The Black Jester
by Draguna Doragon
Summary: What would you do if you found out your mother lived a different life before she met you? How do you use the fire in your belly and choose which path to take? Fire gives light and warmth, but it also burns and destroys...and she likes it when it burns...read if you like adult action, romance, drama and lots of Joker style madness. M for a reason boys and girls! lots of pairings.
1. Chapter 1

"Jaclyn Ester?" a young girl looked up from her seat in the waiting room, her watering green eyes wavering as she focused on the senior Nurse. As the girl rose from her seat she held her hands before her, making the longest walk she had ever made. That little waiting room might as well have been a marathon. It felt like an age by the time she crossed that little room, walked in tow of the nurse and arrived at that room.

Her mother.

The woman that raised her for 16 years was in a hospital bed. She had collapsed that morning and been rushed to hospital. Jaclyn had held her hand in the ambulance and screamed as the paramedics had to restart her heart three times on route to the hospital.

She had then had to wait, on her own, in the family waiting room as the doctors rushed her mother, her only family, through an MRI, then surgery. Jaclyn hadn't said a word the whole time.

And now she had finally been reunited with her mother, she still didn't know what to say.

Her mother had been flipping pancakes that morning with a smile on her face. Now she had her dirty blonde hair stuck to her neck and back against the pillow, her face pale and eyes closed. There was a soft beep o the heart monitor in the background, the only sign that her mother was alive. Jaclyn sank into the chair by her mother's side and shakily placed a hand over her mother's. It was cold and unresponsive.

"...Mommy..."

"Miss Ester, your mother had a Cardiac arrest this morning. We are still unsure what caused it, but her heart went into Defib and despite getting her heart back into a normal rhythm on multiple occasions, the strain proved to be too much and her brain went without oxygen for too long." Jaclyn started sobbing, grasping her mother's hand tightly and pressing her head into the bed next to her mother. "By the time we were able to stabilise her heart, her mind was gone. I'm sorry to inform you that-"

"No! My mommy isn't dead. She isn't dead!" She whimpered. "We are going to the park party tomorrow. For my birthday. I'm 16." She cocked on her tears into the bed. "I'm 16. If she's dead then I have no one. She can't leave me alone. She promised she'd never leave me alone." Jaclyn wept, her shoulders shaking even when the nurse placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry for your loss Miss Ester. I've contacted social services. They'll take you home while you sort out you and your mother's belongings. Then you'll be placed with a foster family. You won't be alone little Miss."

Then the nurse backed off.

A social worker appeared out of nowhere, started babbling comforts at her. She ignored her and fell backwards into her shell. She watched as the nurse turned the machine off, explaining that she was already gone. She didn't fight it when she was dragged away from her mother and herded out of the hospital, into a car and eventually dropped off at her apartment.

Jaclyn allowed the social worker to sit her down on her bed in her room. It must have been another hour before Jaclyn Ester looked up from her trembling hands to the mirror opposite her bed.

Her long blonde hair hung by her face, her block fringe sticking to her forehead and her bangs to her cheeks with her tears. Her big green eyes shimmered, tears slugging down her red nose and cheeks. She had put on her frilly pink summer dress that day. It was her mother's favourite...she wanted to make her smile that day. The memory of her mother in that hospital bed seemed to be an insult. That couldn't have been her mother. Her mother was strict and very paranoid about going anywhere outside of their usual haunts, but she was a happy boisterous woman. Always telling Jaclyn she was special and could do anything she wanted to.

The next few weeks were a blur. The social worker helped her pack up her things and make sure she ate three times a day. Her birthday came and went, ignored as there was no one left to care. She was placed in a foster home with 30 other kids. Turns out the family quite enjoyed the funding that came with every child placed with them. None of them tried to learn her name, and for the next few weeks, she didn't care to learn theirs. In her possession she had one small suit case that went under her bed. Her bed was in the attack on its own. At first she thought this would be horrible, being completely alone even in her foster home. Then she was glad for it. Children all around her making so much noise, ignoring her existence and her misery, didn't seem to help her. So she hid in the attic looking over her scrapbook, filled to the brim with captured memories of her and her mother. She sobbed silently as she flicked through the pages, not knowing who she was without her mother. Who she was meant to be. Her mother, Jane Ester, was always smiling and plotting how one day Jaclyn was going to take the world by storm. She always talked about saving up enough money so that they could move to Metropolis one day, where they would find fame and fortune. That would always make Jaclyn smile.

Jaclyn was shocked out of her fond trip down memory lane by a banging on the attic door. She put the scrap book on the bed and scrambled over to the door, sliding it to one side on the floor. Her foster 'mom' Tammy was holding a large parcel up for her. She twittered something about 'for you', shoved the box at her, and stormed off.

Jaclyn slide the door shut and scuttled to the bed with the box. Who would be sending her mail? She didn't have any family. Her mother was all she had.

She eagerly ripped off the packaging to find a metal box. Taped to it was a note.

_To my darling daughter. If you are reading this then I have died and I am so sorry for leaving you. _

Jaclyn released a horse whimper. It was her mother. Her mother had sent her a parcel. But when? It was nearly a month ago that she had died. When did she send this? She shook her head and returned to the note.

_I had an old friend keep this box and he was told that in the event of my death he was to send this to you immediately. Please break the wax seal on the box and read the letter inside first. I love you baby cakes. _

Jaclyn wiped her face, put the note in her scrap book and tore the rest of the brown paper from the box. Over the opening was a large lump of red wax. In it was a very strange insignia. It looked like...a Jester's hat, pressed into the wax whilst it was still hot and set that way. The insignia was so intricate that if the box had been forced open there would be no way of setting the wax again without it being obvious. Jaclyn picked up a knife from her dinner plate and shoved it behind the wax seal. It cracked and pulled away. She shoved the seal into a plastic pocket in her scrap book and pried open the box.

Why would her mother have a box hidden away and have it delivered in the event of her death?

She saw lots of colourful things in the box, but did as she was told. She pulled the letter out first and held it in front of her face with wide eager eyes.

_I have a lot of things to tell you baby cakes, so list well sugar buns. _

She stopped at that. Baby cakes? Sugar buns? The note on the front sounded like her mother. And she recognised the handwriting. This letter however was something else. The paper was pink, the handwriting was red, there were smilie faces and love hearts everywhere and the language was...well different. Jaclyn cocked her head to one side and sniffed the paper. It was scented, but there was a fine layer of dust and a smell of moth balls on it. This letter was old. _Maybe my mom wrote it when she was young?_ She read on.

_Now butter buns, I'm 22 years old right now and I just found out I'm preggers with you, sweet thing. Now I need to let you know I've been a really bad girl. And as fun as that was, I can't exactly do what I do best with a bouncing ball of cuteness strapped to my front. Now, momma bear here grew up in the foster system and my foster daddy was a very bad man. So I had to blow his face off, you understand. _

Jaclyn threw the letter at the floor and covered her mouth so she didn't squeal. She stared at the offending letter for longer than she cared to think. Her mother, a younger version of her mother, just confessed on paper that she killed someone, as nonchalantly as anything! Her hands slowly fell from her mouth and her fingers switched. There was much more to the letter. This was something her mother _wanted_ her to know. There had to be a reason. She just couldn't fathom that at any stage of her life, her mother could be capable of _killing_ anyone.

Finally, she slipped off the bed until her bum landed on the floor and she lifted the letter back up in front of her face. Her body was tense. She was now worried about what else she would find out about her mother. The worse thing was, she was starting to hear the soft southern twang of her mother's accent behind each mystery filled word in her head as she read the letter.

_After that I decided I wasn't cut out for being under anyone's thumb and came to the big capital city of Gotham. Now, the things you need to survive this town and to make your fame and fortune are money, powerful friends, and power. These things are usually gained by kicking the shit out of someone and taking what they have. Now I started mugging on the street, but very soon I mugged the wrong guy. He laughed in my face, patted me on the head despite the fact I had a pistol pressed to his gut, and before I knew it I was on the floor bleeding my heart out. I thought I was a gonner for sure by this point honey bee, but I did go and wake up in a warehouse, in a dinky little bed. I was in a lotta pain but that sinister man was sat next to me, stitching me up. _

"...So _that's_ where that ugly scar came from!" Jac had always asked her mother where that jagged scar down her chest came from, but she'd always said to her 'from life dear, from life'.

_I was scared of course, but then I couldn't stop laughing. He was cracking joke after joke as he poured vodka down my chest and chatting me up for my nice rack. _

"Ew mom, didn't need to know that."

_I was bed bound for a while, but when I looked around I saw all sorts of things. This funny mad man had a weird hide out. there were circus things everywhere. I remembered going to the circus when my parents were still alive, back when I was a little nipper. I was crying and smiling before I knew it. When the man with the crazy grin walked in on me he said since I liked it so much, and I was a violent bitch, I might as well join his gang. So I did! Fancy that sweet pee!_

"...a _gang_...? My mom wasn't in a gang..."

_Well, it was tons of fun! We smashed up shops, stole whatever we wanted and had a laugh all at the same time! And he soon started to tell me to be more ambitious. He said life was a joke, so start having fun. He pointed out that my name was a sign that I was sent to him. J for Jane, and Ester put together made the name Jester. So he even made me a costume. We were such a pair. He was a little rough and had quite a temper, but he always stopped if I looked like I was going to cry. He hated that. Mr J was always a gentleman, in his own way. For 6 months I was his main squeeze, and we were really starting to make a name for ourselves. Well, for Mr J anyway. Anywho sugar, this is where this story ends. As much as I love Mr J and this life, as soon as I twigged that I was up the duff, I knew that I had to run away. Mr J is a very complex man. I don't know how he'd take it if he found out I was pregnant. He might get pretty mad. And he was rough with me. I couldn't risk it. Besides, I want you to have the perfect life my little angel. I want you to feel safe. I want you to live a life where you look forward to every day, and never have to fight for what you deserve. So the Jester is going in this box with all of her baggage. Today I am Jane Ester, expectant momma bear and responsible person. Mr J would collapse if he heard that! ^.^ anyway sugar, I wrote this down so that in the event of my untimely or timely demise you would have the knowledge that your momma was a fighter. I'm not condoning you do anything rash now, but you deserve the truth, whenever it is that I decide you deserve it. My name is Jane Ester, I was a criminal called the Jester, and your father is The Joker. _

_Try and stay out of trouble, unless you're going to be good at it! _

_Hugs and kisses little Misses!_

_Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxx_

Jaclyn Ester read the letter again with one hand over her open mouth, the other almost fisting at the letter.

Her mother was a criminal. She couldn't believe it. Then again it would explain why her mother hadn't worked a day in her life and yet they never struggled with bills or anything they wanted to do...

Slowly she put the letter down on the bed and looked to the box. There was a lot of yellow and black material, so she pulled it out and laid the outfit on the bed.

She was about to look over the clothing in greater detail, when she saw a photograph.

There was a man and a woman in it. The woman was wearing the outfit she'd just pulled out of the box. She was wearing thigh high leather black boots with really high heels. The cuff around the top of her thighs folded back with triangular yellow leather strips. Black leather suspenders connected the boots to a pair of tight black leather shorts. She and her 'great rack' were packed into a leather yellow corset dress. The dress stopped just before the edge of her shorts at the front, and fell down in folded layers at the back behind her knees. White lace could be seen as her under skirt. There were black belts strapped across her dress with large bullets attached to them. Knives were strapped to her belts and boots. She had long black leather gloves on up to her mid bicep. Her blonde hair was long and wild down her back. She wore a long leather yellow hat with a black strip at the base. It sat on top of her head and fell down her back with one large bell attached to the end. Her face though...it was painted white! She had black panda eyes and thick black lipstick on. Her eye lashes were long and brilliant yellow, framing her bright blue eyes.

The man she was next to was wearing a brilliant deep purple tailored suit, black and white dance shoes, white gloves, green under vest and big purple bow tie. There was a yellow fluffy flower pinned to his chest. His hair was a mottled green, his face white, his eyes were green and his lips were crimson and stretched into a manic grin.

Both people in the photo were embracing intimately, with one arm around each other. The other arms were holding up very large guns, and both of them had incredibly amused grins on their faces.

Jaclyn looked over the photograph, analysing every inch of it, holding it in her finger tips like she was afraid the picture would vanish as soon as she looked away.

"...my dad...is the Joker...and my mum was his right hand man..." She looked to her side on the bed, looking over the outfit her mother was wearing in the picture. _The Jester..._

She then had to suppress the urge to jump off the bed and head for cover, as she saw the rest of the box was filled with knives, guns, boxes of ammo, scalpels and grenades.

Her mom was no amateur...

Jaclyn took a deep breath, and ran a hand over the outfit on her bed, then shook her head. She shoved everything back into the box bar the letter and the picture, and shoved the box under head bed in her suitcase.

She then sat on her bed and looked around the room, as if she thought someone was going to storm in at any moment and arrest her for her discovery. She tentatively went through her daily routine so no one suspected anything, retiring to her room that night with her mother's letter in one hand, and the photo in the other.

"...I thought Harley Quinn was Joker's girlfriend...? then again, maybe my mom came first..." Jaclyn, and every other person in Gotham, knew about the Joker. He was one of the biggest bad guys in the _world_ and was renowned for his violence and insanity, not to mention his criminal activities. He was in and out of Arkham Asylum and always in the papers. Along with the Penguin, Mr Freeze, Two Face, The Riddler, Cat Woman, Poison Ivy and so many others. Not to mention of course Batman. Oh yes, she knew all about the Joker. She looked hard at the picture.

Her mother had wanted her to know this.

"_My name is Jane Ester, I was a criminal called The Jester, and your father is The Joker. _

_Try and stay out of trouble, unless you're going to be good at it! _

_Hugs and kisses little Misses!"_

"Stay out of trouble unless you're going to be good at it..." her gaze fell on the Joker, and how his hand was intimately placed on his mother's hip.

All her life she'd asked her mother who her father was. All she'd ever got was 'He's a bad man. Don't worry about it sweet pee'. Bad man or not, she'd always wanted to know who he was, and why he didn't want her. But from the letter it was obvious to her that The Joker didn't know she existed. Her mother had run away, after all.

Now, Jaclyn Ester wasn't a normal 16 year old girl. Her mother used to be called into school on a regular basis to take her daughter home. Little miss Ester didn't know when to keep her mouth shut to avoid a beating, and was more than willing to get into a scrap because of it.

And she usually always won...

It was a bit bad when she had to have her pens and pencils confiscated at the end of every lesson so she didn't use them against any of the bullies...

"_My baby is just a bit of a spit fire! If those bullies are going to try it on with her, then they are the only ones to blame really!" _

Her mother always defended her. Thing is, Jaclyn knew she was in the wrong, and that she should just walk away, not start scratching their arms with her number 2 pencil... She discussed it with her mother some times, asking if it was wrong that she enjoyed fighting and even looked forward to it. She didn't want to really hurt anyone, but sometimes it was fun to smack an idiotic bully, that grabbed her ass, face first into a wall of lockers, grab a fistful of his hair, and drag his face along the wall until there were imprints of multiple locker numbers in his face.

Her mother would reply by saying she needed to keep her anger in check, but it was a family thing.

"I guess now I know exactly where that comes from, ay 'Jester'?"

So what now?

She had this information, and a box of rather dangerous mementoes from her mother's past...but what should she _do_ with it?

She knew one thing. "I have to meet him." no matter what she did, she _had_ to meet her father. But that would be no easy feat. He was a criminal mastermind, surrounded by gangs of thugs and armed to the teeth. Oh yes, and insane. There would be only one way she would get anywhere _near_ the Joker... "And that's to be good at getting into trouble, ay Mom?"

Jaclyn Ester's eyes lulled shut and she fell asleep in the middle of her tiny bed holding the letter and picture to her chest. Tomorrow she would make her move. Tonight she would dream and try to process all she had learnt about her mother. Tomorrow she would act.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

She was here. She was stood outside of Wayne Manor. The nervous woman tucked a stray brown lock behind her ears. She looked over herself, reassuring herself she looked the part. Nothing she wore was designer, but it looked smart enough. She wore smart black heels of a medium height, semi transparent black tights and a smart grey business dress suit. She wore a black blouse underneath the jacket, and held a black leather portfolio file to her chest. Her chocolate brown hair was twisted into a large black butterfly clip. Her bangs were tucked behind her ears, and her makeup was soft and neutral. Her eyes were a steely blue, and looking nervously over her attire again. This was Bruce Wayne she was going to see. She had to look worth the five minutes she needed. She locked her car and approached the front door. She knocked twice, and the door opened slowly. She blinked a few times, seemingly not expecting the elderly man that now looked at her.

"My name is Alfred, I am Mr Wayne's Butler. You said you came to see him? Do you have an appointment? As I fear he isn't here at the moment."

"Oh...I rang his firm and they said he wasn't there...so I thought..." She cleared her throat, and extended one of her shaking hands. "S-sorry for being rude. My name is Brenna Jones. I don't have an appointment but I really need to speak to Mr Wayne. Mr Bruce Wayne." Alfred shook her hand and gave her a gentle smile.

"Well it is a pleasure to meet you Ms Jones, but without an appointment I fear you will find it quite difficult to get an audience with the Master of the house."

"Oh, well, I called his secretary and she said there wouldn't be any chance of me seeing him for anything non business related for 3 years." She laughed nervously, holding the portfolio to her chest tightly. "I can't wait 3 years to see him, sir. It's really important."

"Are you a reporter Miss?"

"No sir. I'm a primary school teacher." Alfred was highly educated in the ways of society and schooling ones features, however, even he was unable to hide the look of confusion on his face. "Recently qualified. I need to speak to Mr Wayne. It's a...personal matter. I could wait for him, I don't mind."

"I'm sorry miss, but my master would be very upset if I allowed every young lady who had personal business with him to wait in his home for him to arrive." Her face fell. Alfred saw a sad desperation in her blue eyes. Brenna looked off to one side for a moment, clearly thinking what her next step should be. When she turned back to the aging butler she had a sad smile on her lips.

"Can I please leave my name and number for Mr Wayne to contact me when he gets home? It's really urgent. And I'm happy to come back tomorrow. It's the summer holidays now so I'm off work for 6 weeks. I don't start at Linly Grove primary school until the 1st of September. Please tell him it's urgent." Brenna handed him a piece of note paper with her name, number and address on it. She hovered there a moment, clearly disappointed she didn't get to see him. "Will he be back tomorrow?"

"I couldn't say Mam."

"Couldn't?...or wouldn't?"

"Have a nice day Mam." Alfred smiled at her and slowly closed the door.

Brenna Jones sighed deeply, turned on the spot and made her way back down the massive drive and back to her dinky little car. She drove back to her tiny little Gotham central apartment and sank into her sofa sadly.

"Well...i'll try again tomorrow I guess."

Jaclyn Ester packed her suitcase, including the metal box from her mother. She was dressed in what she called action gear, consisting of white trainers, baggy blue jeans, a white t-shirt and a pink hoodie. Her hair was down though, as she couldn't find her bobble. She opened the attic window and looked down with determined emerald orbs. Luckily there wasn't much of a distance between her and the fire escape along the side of the building. She was able to sit half in and half out of the window, hold onto the frame with one hand and lower her suitcase to the fire escape with the other hand. There were grenades in there after all. She didn't want to see what would happen if she just dropped the case all the way to the floor. Then the fire cracker swung her leg out of the window and jumped down to her suitcase. She paused in her crouched position, waiting to see if her new foster 'family' had noticed the clang of her landing on the fire escape. When no one stirred, she picked up her suitcase, scaled down to the stairs and zipped down the alley ways to the main part of the city. Once she was there she stood outside of a large bus station, holding her suitcase and sighed.

Well. What now?

So she'd run away. Wasn't she a big girl now? But where exactly was she going to go? There weren't exactly lots of jobs available for 16 year olds (that were legal) and apartments that would let to kids. So where did she go now? Even the most villainous of criminals needed a place to sleep at night.

"Stop that right now!"

"Geez lady, back off. I'm just doing my job."

"You're killing them! There is hardly any beauty left in this city and you're murdering the last of Gotham's true children!" Jaclyn dragged her suitcase behind her and hurried towards the sound of commotion like she was in a trance. There was no thinking behind this decision. She just did. As she got there she saw what looked like a building crew trying to dig up a very small city centre park. They were yelling and swearing at a young woman dressed in a pair of black slacks, black heels, and a black blouse. As she approached the scene she saw the woman had vibrant red hair, and was definitely not afraid of the group of angry builders.

"Listen lady, move or be moved. End of story."

"I will not back down to bullies!"

"Move lady!" one of the men grabbed her arm and tried to hoist her up off her feet and out the way. The woman narrowed her eyes on him, about to let loose, when a blur of pink and yellow passed her. The man released the red head as a younger woman jumped onto the brute's back.

Pamela Isley watched as a young blonde girl took a piggy back off the man she was about to impale with the vines under her clothes, and watched as her fists smacked him upside the head and her teeth attached his ear. "You crazy bitch! Get offa me! AAAaaaaa!" as the man wobbled back and forth trying to pull the girl off his back, Pamela jumped forward, wrapped her arms around the girl and pulled her off.

Part of the ear came away in her mouth... "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAA!"

"That's enough sweet heart." Pamela dragged her away from the scene as people ran to the bleeding brute. Jaclyn spat the piece of flesh from her teeth.

"He attacked you! I'll kick his ass!" She screamed, her lips bloody and her legs flailing.

"Call the police!" the man screamed, holding his bleeding head and ear.

"And that's our cue to leave." Pamela started to drag the girl away, stumbling only when the blonde reached out to grab her suit case.

Within 5 minutes they were around a corner and into a green ford focus. After 5 more minutes, Pamela broke the silence. "Thank you for the assist back there, but I was going to deal with them in my own way. Are you passionate about plants too?" Jaclyn wiped the blood from her lips onto her pink hoodie sleeve and looked up to her captor.

"Well, I just hate bullies in general I guess. Plus, I like fighting. I know I shouldn't though."

"Well if the cause is just, I think it's alright." Pamela giggled, flipping her crimson locks behind her as she drove through the streets of Gotham. She pulled into a fast food outlet car park, parked, and turned to look at the girl. "Now, you're running." She pointed to the suitcase on the back seats. "Why?"

"My mom's dead. I had to get out of the foster house I was in." Jaclyn folded her arms and looked out of the window.

"I see. So where are you running _to?_"

"Hadn't thought that far."

"So you need somewhere to say. Want to stay with me?"

"You gonna do any weird shit to me?"

"Oh no baby girl. Not unless you harm my babies." Pamela restarted the car, pulled out of the fast food place and drove out of Gotham and to her secret residence in the woods. "I'm Pamela by the way."

"...I'm Jaclyn. Call me Jac. So." She turned to face the older beauty. "You're going to take me home with you and promise not to do any weird shit to me? Or hurt me? Or worse, report me to social services?"

"No sweety. In fact, I could use a...campaigning partner." She giggled, pulling up to a large wooden cabin next to an enormous tree. "Conservation work is a hard, thankless job. The way I see it, Batman has Robin _and_ Nightwing. Penguin has his thugs. Joker has Harley and his gang. And then there's me, little old me all alone." Pamela swivelled in her seat and cocked her head to one side, her gorgeous mane of red hair falling forward as she did so. "Fancy being my side kick?"

"...HHmmmmmm..." _I suppose this could work for now..._ Her emerald eyes narrowed on the read head. She started to read off her fingers. "Alright, but I'm not a kid so don't treat me like one. And I'm not having a curfew as I have...friends in town I want to still see."

"Alright sweety. But you have to be open to...more hard hitting methods of protecting the dwindling greenery of this city. And if we are doing nicknames, you can call me Pam."

"Sure Pam, I'll break some legs with you. Just give me a decent baseball bat and I'm there." The young girl nodded her head, and Pam winked at her. Both women got out of the car and faced the log cabin. It was a quite a substantial size. It almost looked like a wooden house... "Just let me get my-bag?" Jaclyn looked to the backseat to see her suitcase was gone.

"Here it is." Pam stood by the front door, holding her suit case. Jac raised a brow at that. _How did she get my suitcase out of the car and get over there so fast...?_

"Right, thanks. Erm, I'll take that." Jaclyn quickly took the suitcase with an awkward smile. The last thing she needed was Pam to hit the damn case against the wall and floor and blow them all up. _Why did I keep the grenades? Why?_

"You hungry? I have lots of mangoes and passion fruits ready for the picking in my garden."

"Garden?"

"Oh yes." Pamela flipped her hair behind her and escorted the girl through the entrance hall, the living room, through the kitchen, and out of the back door. Jaclyn put her suitcase down in the kitchen before running out to the garden with her new 'foster mum'.

"...wow..." It was like the Amazon rainforest! Jaclyn's head turned from side to side as she looked at the array of vibrant plants and trees. She ran after Pam as she walked deeper into the 'garden' and up to a large fenced of area.

"Now dear, I happen to have some...well...the species of plants through this door are highly delicate and poisonous." Pam cleared her throat. She wanted to break this girl in slowly, not jump out and say 'Hi, I'm Poison Ivy and I'd like you to help me take over Gotham. I also have an army of mutant killer plants behind this fence so hands off for now.' "I'm a scientist you see, and I'm trying to preserve the species by-"

"Poisonous? As in poisons?" Pam raised a brow at the girl. She seemed to be...grinning?

"Yes."

"Do you...collect these poisons?"

"...I _could_ collect them...why?" Pam's lips were curving into her usual seductive smirk. "Are you..._interested _in poisons?"

"Oh yeah. I-erm had a school project about them." Jaclyn started to chuckle nervously. _Ok smartass, how are you going to back this one up without sounding like you want to use poisons for real?_ "I find them really interesting. The applications are very interesting, I mean."

"Applications you say?" Pam beamed a smile, seeing that her task would be easier than she thought it would be. She could see a spark of something...more in this girl. Something that would be very useful to her.

"Well, they are so ranged and varied aren't they? Some plant toxins are used as painkillers, and some are neurotoxins that can paralyse someone, with the tiniest amount. Like a knife coated in it would do the trick."

"Or a dart? Were you studying the aborigines and Amazonian tribes at school? They would use plant and animal toxins for that very purpose. And of course, to kill their pray."

"Yeah, that's exactly it. I always wondered how it worked..."

"Perhaps then-" Pam put her hand on the girl's shoulder and lead her back to the house. "-we could extract and purify some plant toxins later on? For my research and your education?"

"That would be awesome." Jaclyn grinned, almost from ear to ear, looking up at her new friend with glee.

"After lunch then?"

"It's a date!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 **

"Good morning Alfred."

"Good morning Ms Jones. Back again?" Alfred hadn't actually expected Brenna Jones to act on her promise of coming back the next day. But here she was, stood in the door way in the same grey dress suit as yesterday, clutching the same leather portfolio file to her chest.

"Yes sir. As I said, it's very urgent. Is Mr Wayne-"

"In Mam? I fear not. He left this morning to attend to some business. Of what nature I'm afraid I was not privy to."

"Oh...do you know if he will be back later? I could come back later." Brenna bit her lips together nervously, her anxiety shining through her watery blue eyes. "Or tomorrow. If that's better."

"Ms Jones, without an appointment my Master will not see you."

"But...3 years...I can't wait 3 years to meet him Alfred." Brenna begged, pleading with the man and pulling on his heart strings.

"I'm sorry Mam, but that's the way it is."

"Did you give my name and number to Mr Wayne?"

"Indeed Mam."

"Ok." Brenna looked away, thinking hard. Alfred raised a brow at this and smiled to himself. Her eyes seemed to focus with her concentration, so much so he could see the cogs turning in her head. _Much like master Wayne does when something is vexing him_. "Well." She turned back to look at him and a sad smile. "You told him it's urgent, right? So he'll call me soon, right?"

"That is _his_ prerogative madam." Alfred waited patiently with that polite smile he always wore, as he waited for her to get the message and leave again. "I will of course let him know you came back again."

"Thank you, that's very kind of you." Brenna held out her hand for him, shook his hand, and smiled softly at him. in a way that made his chest warm up. "I'll await his call. If not, I'll come back tomorrow. Hopefully he'll be free then."

"Mam I don't suggest-"

"I'll see you soon Alfred."

And off she went, again.

Leaving without having gotten a sausage, again.

Alfred just shook his head and chuckled. _My that girl is determined. And she is very polite. Most women her age aren't polite to their elders anymore. Most men her age aren't either._ Alfred locked the door and went about his business cleaning and ensuring Wayne manner was pristine, and in perfect working order.

As he descended into the Batcave with scrambled Geese eggs on French toast with a glass of fresh orange juice, he resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his master. Bruce Wayne had stripped out of the Batman suit, but not the persona. He was furiously typing away at his master computer, analysing only god knows what. Whatever it was, Alfred decided it couldn't be as important as his breakfast.

"Good Morning Master Bruce. I know you have only shortly graced Wayne manor with your presence from your alternative business, and you have yet to sleep, but I feel it would be best to ensure you have some breakfast. After all, you _did_ run out last night before I could serve you dinner, you then missed supper, and will no doubt do the same tonight. Therefore-" Alfred stood right next to Bruce, held the breakfast tray with one hand, and used the other to pull the back of the large chair out from under the computer control panel. Bruce tore his eyes from his work to look sternly at his lifelong friend and career, only to see Alfred wasn't in the mood to hear 'but this is really important'. His butler was really easy going, until he became worried about his health. "-I must insist you have your breakfast, and then you may torture your mind and body further. Until lunch, of course."

"Of course." Bruce chuckled, having just inhaled the delicious scent of his breakfast. His stomach then reminded him he _was_ hungry, and he happily took the tray from Alfred. "Oh, another matter of note."

"Oh? You have something to tell _me_ Alfred?" Bruce chomped through half of his toast and scrambled eggs. "Alfred, how many times have I told you about taking the Batmobile downtown and sleuthing out Penguin informants?"

"Alas, no sir." Alfred did chuckle at that. This was the Bruce Wayne no one got to see. The humorous and kind Bruce, not the chauvinistic playboy billionaire the world was accustomed to. "That young Miss that came calling on you yesterday. She was just here."

"Again? You did tell her I wouldn't see her without an appointment, right Alfred?"

"Of course sir. She simply says she can't wait 3 years, and that it is a matter of the utmost urgency."

"Did she now..." Bruce finished his breakfast, practically inhaling it and gulping his orange juice. He then turned to Alfred with stern eyes. "Probably another reporter. Primary school teacher my ass. She's probably a new reporter trying to make a name for herself. Only a newbie would come up with such a terrible background story."

"She seemed pretty genuine sir."

"Alfred. You are so trusting." Bruce chuckled and ran a hand back through his thick brown hair. There were gray hairs here and there now, betraying his age. His 45'th birthday was coming up and he was dreading it. He knew for a fact that Alfred would insist he celebrate it, and wouldn't take 'the Joker is on the loose!' as an excuse. Whether it was true or not.

"Indeed sir. Well, I'll leave you to it then, sir."

"I'm going to get some sleep. I'll see you for Lunch."

"Indeed sir."

Life was good, Jaclyn Ester decided.

After the trauma of losing her mother, and being forced to stay for nearly a month in that airport of a foster home, she was glad for the tranquillity of Pam Isley's wooden home.

She was a 16 year old kid, who needed routine. Structure. Rules.

Rules

1, don't go into the garden alone.

2, don't go into the basement alone.

3, when Pam goes out alone, don't ask questions.

4, you are now a vegetarian.

That one was the hardest to comply to. She loved a good cheese burger...Pam wasn't cruel though. The rules apparently only applied whilst in her house. So when they went into town, she'd swing past a burger barn and let her get whatever she wanted. Something that Jaclyn was very grateful for.

Structure.

She knew where she stood with Pam. When Jaclyn had the conversation with Pam that she was interested in certain areas of education, but she'd go insane at school, Pam whole heartedly agreed that she would be home schooled.

By her.

Routine.

8am she was dragged out of bed by an insistent red head.

8:30am she would have fruit salad or a monster fruit for breakfast.

9:am she would have to bathe and freshen up.

10am schooling would start. Said schooling was always based in the garden amongst the plants. She leant about different plant families and their uses. Most of it Pam had to force her to stay interested in, (poke her in the head when she was dosing off), but as soon as anything to do with poisons, nerve agents, paralytics and anything that burned or infected, Pam was inundated with an onslaught of questions.

1pm schooling was over and she could do what the hell she wanted. Usually by this point Pam went into the basement, alone, and Jaclyn locked herself in her room and either read her mother's letter, stared at the picture, or even tried on the Jester costume. It was a little baggy, and would definitely need adjusting. Or, using as a template to make another costume.

3pm, Pam would jump into the car and ask if Jaclyn needed a lift into town for 'whatever'. Jac would say yes, and dress in jeans, a hoodie with the hood up, and a backpack filled with sharp and pointy 'goodies'. As Pamela when her way, Jaclyn would walk the streets with a red crayon and a large map. She marked on all the police stations, and more importantly, territories.

Most of the gangs used signs and spray paint to mark their turf. The Penguin would have a white P on the walls, two face would have a smiling face, with half of it shaded in, and the Joker would have allsorts! Large J's, Clown faces, bloody knives, Joker cards knifed to the wall...anything he felt like, apparently.

It took her 3 weeks of this routine to get her large map labelled up with everything she needed to know.

This particular day, the day she completed her map, she was sat at an outside table at a cafe'. Pamela had given her some spending money to feed her and such whilst she was out. So logically that meant that she had to have a chocolate milkshake and a slice of strawberry cheese cake. She was sucking her chocolaty goodness through the straw and staring at her map, when a shadow covered her.

"Is that a muffin?" Jaclyn blinked for a moment, thinking he was referring to the cheese cake, when she detached from the straw and looked at her clothing.

Other than the white trainers and tight stretchy jeans, she had donned a white hoodie (now on the back of her chair) and a white tank top with a cartoon smiling cupcake on it. She liked that tank top, as A, her mother bought it for her, and B, with her push up bra it made her look 18, not 16.

Her brilliant green eyes rose from her chest, to her guest.

"Nope, a cupcake. Very different."

"Of course. I can't believe I made that mistake." Jaclyn cocked her head to one side, causing her long wavy blonde hair to swing with the movement. This boy was tall, had bad boy curtains of ebony hair and mischievous baby blues aimed right at her. He was wearing firetrap jeans, Timberland trainers and what had to be some sort of designer tight black tank top that came with a six pack as standard issue. He was carrying over one arm a brown leather jacket, and holding a pair of black shades in the other hand. "Cupcakes are so much cuter than muffins."

"Yeah, everyone knows that." Jaclyn fidgeted in her seat, suddenly wishing she'd not worn the cupcake tank top today and ordered something more mature than a milkshake and cheesecake. This boy was at least her age, if not older, and he was certainly a looker. His smile was wide and his eyes were wiser than his years.

Now, punching a boy, Jaclyn know how to do. Kicking a boy was elementary, beating the shit out of a boy was just fun. But _talking_ to a _cute _boy? Jaclyn didn't even know where to start.

She screamed in her head when he took the other chair on her tiny little table.

"My name is Tim Drake. But you can call me Tim if you like."

"Right. Will do." Jaclyn nodded her head at him, wide eyed and desperately wishing she'd allowed her mother to have the 'boy talk' with her last year.

However, when she started the conversation about love and boyfriends holding a banana and a donut, she'd run off. She did so screaming that no boy was putting his banana near _her_, covered or not, for 100 years, if it meant she could avoid seeing her mother do what she thought she was going to do with those items...

Yeah, boys were definitely an issue for her.

This said cute boy chuckled at her, and picked up the menu.

"You know, I just told you my name."

"That you did."

"So...you should tell me yours."

"Oh. Right." Jaclyn grabbed her milkshake and took a deep suck for courage, not realising that only worked with alcoholic drinks. "It's Jaclyn. JAC!" She squeaked. "Jac, Jac it's Jac..." She closed her eyes, and took another sip of her magical chocolate milkshake. He chuckled at her, his blues sparkling as he did so.

"Well _Jac_, what's with the map?" Tim waved over a waiter with one hand, and pointed to the large map on the desk with the other hand. "And why have you drawn all over it?" Jac looked down at the map on the table, and back up at Tim's slightly suspicious eyes.

_Well...I have circled all the police stations and all the gang land borders...with their insignias...that could look quite suspicious...well how the hell was I supposed to know I was gonna get ambushed by Mr hotty-pants?!_

"I'm new to town." _Yes! This is a good plan! Fucking go with this plan!_ "I just moved in with my foster mom and she's told me how _dangerous_ Gotham can be for a young g-woman." Jac cleared her throat, her eyes following two large glasses of chocolate milkshake from the waiter's hands to their table.

"That's pretty smart. Oh, do you mind?" Tim waved at the milkshakes. "You're running low and I fancied a chocolate milkshake too."

"...are you paying?"

"That was the plan." Tim chuckled and passed a 20 to the waiter and told him to keep the change. "That ok?"

"Yeah, sure." Jac finished off her milkshake and took the new one greedily. "Love chocolate milkshake." She grinned and looked up at Tim and his wide smile. "My mum and I..." her face froze... "I mean we..." Tom's smile fell with hers, but his with concern. There was a familiar pain in her eyes. "...we used to get milkshakes all the time..."

Jac stared down at her milkshake for a while, sadly stirring it with the straw. Tim sipped at his and waited for her to come round. "Sorry. Dead mom story kind of kills the mood. I'm not very good with people, just so you know."

"That's ok. I've been there. I was 8 when I lost my family." Jac snapped her eyes to look at him. His eyes were almost serene in their sadness, but he still smiled softly at her. "...have you recently...?"

"A month. Thus the foster mom."

Again there was an awkward silence, until one of his supple fingers pressed on a building on her map.

"Well, you have all the places to avoid just about right. Except, town is only safe-well-safe-ish during daylight hours. And this police station has the Bat signal on it. This is the one Batman, Nightwing and Red Robin go to." She cocked her head to one side and looked very confused.

"...I know about Batman and Robin...but who's Nightwing? And why is Robin now _Red _Robin?" He seemed to be resisting to the urge to pout for a moment, before he took her red crayon and added the bat signal to the building.

"Batman has two sidekicks, Nightwing and Red Robin. Originally it was just Robin, but the theory is that the first Robin got older and changed his image and his fighting style. And Batman recruited another kid to fly around as Robin. He died... but then another Robin was recruited but he didn't want to fill anyone's shoes. So he was the Red Robion. People say he's better than the other Robins ever were..." He seemed to fidget in his seat and look around him as he said that, as if afraid someone would hear and smack him for it.

"So there are three vigilantes in Gotham then?" _That will certainly make things difficult. I definitely don't want to get caught by any of those guys...i'll never meet the Joker if I get caught at the start of my crime career!_

"Yup. Cleaning up the streets and stuff. Anyway, that's boring." He smiled at her again, making her speechless..._ damn him and his pretty boy smile!_ "So you still in school?"

"Nope. You?"

"Nope. Just finished."

"Yeah me to." Jaclyn latched on to her straw and began gulping down the milkshake, hoping a brain freeze episode would smack her back into her normal snarky self. She wasn't a fan of 'weak in the knees' Jaclyn.

"You 18?"

"Why?" She narrowed her eyes on him and folded her arms. She didn't notice that this pushed her breasts together even more, and sent torrents of hormones through the young man before her.

"Because if you are, then there is a party I'm going to tonight. Unofficially there will be no drinking as we're not 21 yet."

"Unofficially huh?" Jaclyn cocked a brow up and smirked at him. Oh yeah, she had _his_ number. "And you thought you'd walk up to me and ask me out to a party where there will be underage drinking with the intention of...?"

"Having fun. Dancing. You know." Tim was starting to blush. This girl was cute, and he wasn't in the habit of approaching girls, but he didn't have much of a social life... He was really looking forward to going to this pre-collage party, but didn't know anyone who was going. He'd seen her sat there on her own, sipping a milkshake deep in thought, and thought she was the cutest blonde he'd ever seen. And those eyes! Big, bright green and fiery. Bruce was always walking up to pretty girls, and so was Dick! If _Batman_ and _Nightwing _could chat up pretty girls, then damn it so could Red Robin!

"Oh, and _you know_, huh?" Jaclyn pulled her straw from her glass, sucked it so it was empty, and licked it clean. This did terrible things to Tim's libido, making him shift in his seat awkwardly. The Criminal wannabe didn't even know what she was doing; she just didn't want to waste any milkshake. Once she was done, she pointed the straw at his face. "Would this 'and you know' involve having me pissed out of my mind, and your banana meeting my donut?" Tim blinked a few times at her very serious accusation before bursting into laughter.

"Ba-ba-banana?!" He snickered into his hands and tried desperately to stop. He could see from the red colour of Jaclyn's face, she was getting pretty embarrassed by his amusement. "I-so sorry. Just never quite heard it put like that before!" He burst into laughter and held his ribs in pain. "It hurts, so funny it hurts."

"Yeah laugh it up wise guy." Jac folded her arms, chewing the straw in the corner of her mouth, letting it stick out like a farmer would a blade of long grass. "But you _know_ what I _meant_."

"No, I won't be introducing my b-"

"That's enough of that." Jaclyn snapped her head to one side and glared off into the street, thoroughly embarrassed. _I so can't talk to boys. They make my brain go mushy and my words come out wrong._

"I won't be drinking. My guardian would be pretty pissed if I was pissed when he picked me up."

"You won't be drinking? And the...other stuff?" She was still blushing at him but held her stare firm.

"No. I just met you, remember? You'd have to be my girlfriend for quite a while before I'd introduce my b-"

"Ok drop it!" Jac's cheeks burned. "Fine I'll go. But only if you promise not to mention the whole food sex analogy thing again, ok?"

"It's a deal, and it's a date."

"Oh no you don't. I didn't say it was a date." Jaclyn was not going to let this _boy_ have his way with her. "A _date_ insinuates kissing and stuff."

"Well, I wouldn't say _no_ to kissing you. You are pretty damn cute. But alas!" Tim rose from his chair, whipping out his mobile and looking at her cute pouting face. "I have been summoned. Can I have your number?"

"...don't have a phone." Jaclyn mumbled, again embarrassed. Most girls her age were on their 4th mobile. Her mom had said they would rot your brain so she wasn't allowed one.

"Well, how about I give you my number?" Tim flipped the phone shut, slipped it into his pocket and pulled out a pen. "I don't have any paper though..."

"Here." Jaclyn shoved her hand at him with a bored expression. The blush on her cheeks however, gave her away. Tim grinned and took her hand as seductively as you could without kissing it, and gently wrote his name and number on the back of her hand. _Then _he kissed it and loved how red her face went. "That's enough of that!"

"You really are cute when you get all pouty like that." He winked at her, just like Bruce did when he was acting the playboy, only to flinch when she literally jumped up out of her seat. She stood right up to him, nose to nose (lifting her head up to do so, he was taller than her), and looked him square in the eye.

"Am I pouty now?"

"...no..." she started to calm down. "...still cute though."

"You think you're _really, _clever now, don't cha?" Trying to intimidate him, she put her hands on her hips and pressed her chest to his.

Yeah, Jaclyn didn't know much about boys. Boys pressing their chests together (unless of that persuasion) was a sign of dominance and intimidation. But pressing a girl's boobs into a boy's chest, wasn't the best way to make them back off.

"Well, I'm not sure about clever, but I'm feeling kinda lucky to have met such a cute girl. The party is at 8, tomorrow night, at the Lexcellence Club on the Highstreet, in the VIP room. Want me to meet you there, or shall I pick you up?"

"I'll meet you there. Dress code?"

"Sexy."

"Oh poor baby. How will you get in?" He grinned and decided to push his luck. He raised one hand to hold her chin gently. He smoothed his thumb over her chin, the tip of it touching the bottom of her lip.

"I'll manage. I know you will. I'll take care of you, don't worry. No drinking and no-" Her eyes narrowed at him. "-shenanigans. Just dancing and good conversation."

"And fun?"

"Of course."

"You really want to kiss me, don't you?" He gulped, also blushing at her. "I'm not very experienced with boys, but you keep looking at my lips, so that means you want to kiss me, right?" She licked her lips, just encase there was milkshake on them instead. "Or do I have something on my face?" thinking that might be the reason, she started to pull away, when he dived in. As his lips pressed against hers gently, his other hand held the small of her back and held her against him. He kissed her for only a moment before pulling back.

"Nah, I really did want to kiss you." She blinked her wide eyes at him, and then the left one twitched.

"I should _really_ kick your ass for that."

"But you won't." He winked at her, pecked a kiss on her cheek and took a big step back. "Because you liked it! I'll see you tomorrow." He started to make his retreat as her nostrils started to flare. "Remember! 8, Lexcellence, VIP room. Tomorrow night. See you there Jac!" He waved at her as he ran off to a black limousine and slid into it.

_So he's a rich boy huh?_ She pouted with her arms folded grumpily over her chest, _glaring_ at the limo as it drove past. _I'll have to watch that one. He is trouble._

Once the limo was out of sight, a strong blush rose to her cheeks as she collected her map, _swallowed_ the cheese cake and made her escape. That was her first kiss and butterflies wouldn't stop stampeding in her stomach. She was actually looking forward to A, seeing him again, and B, maybe getting to kiss him again.

"But no bananas." She shook away her blush and went back to business. "But I don't have anything sexy..." She thought about what she could possibly wear, and then remembered she only had 10 dollars left. Not enough for something sexy. All she owned were cute tops, hoodies and jeans.

Then the answer struck her as she shoved her map into her backpack, careful to prevent anyone from seeing all the sharp and pointy toys she had in there. _Ooo...I could __steal__ something sexy to wear...? Surely even the Joker started his crime career with small things like shop lifting? _

Jaclyn Ester tucked her hair down the back of her hoodie, put on some sunglasses and went into the nearest department store. She didn't speak to any of the staff or look like she was in need of 'help'. She walked right up to the formal and party wear, picked out a pair of black high heel wedge shoes, a black sequin short black dress with no back and a high neck. She then picked up a smoky eye makeup kit, mascara, red lipstick, red nail varnish, a sweet smelling perfume, black tights and finally a small black bag. She saw a cheap basic mobile, put that in her basket, grabbed a pager whilst she was at it, and finished it off with compact mirror and neutral foundation. As she was approaching the changing rooms she saw a fancy dress section, perused it and found some bog standard white and black face paint. She then grabbed the 'face stay' spray to fix the paints in place. Then she saw some fake white eye lashes and different coloured colours to dye them. She grabbed them and the yellow lash-dye, and then went to try on her outfit. She took a large black hoodie off the 'don't want it' rail outside the rooms and went into the cubicle.

What she actually did next was put the black hoodie on, and back up everything she'd put in her basket and her pink hoodie on top. Then she started to get nervous. _Now what?_ There were guards on the front door, no one was manning the cubicles, but the guards would be a problem. She checked her hair was tucked down her 'new' baggy black hoodie and peered out of the cubicle, her heavy backpack making her back ache. She ignored it, and slowly started to peruse through the tights section again, no one so far having notices her clothes change. She then noticed a back door was open and a delivery van was unloading stock. She looked around, and Jaclyn couldn't see anyone other than the delivery guy at the back door.

_One guy is better than the three guards at the door. And all the staff look busy. _ Her hands went to her pockets and she slowly made her way over to the delivery door.

"Excuse me Mam you can't be-"

Bam.

She swung her fist round with so much force his nose burst with blood and his gums started bleeding. He was also spluttering on blood so no one heard him scream. With no remorse Jaclyn booted him to the chest, then the stomach, winding him. Again, so he couldn't scream. She then pegged it down the back alley. Her heart was hammering in her chest so loud she could have sworn they were the sound of footsteps. She got all the way to a wire fence before she started to panic. She looked up at it, over her shoulder at the store security guards running towards her, and then back to the fence. She jumped at it, feeling the skin on her fingers burn, about to burst. She fisted the sleeve of her hoodie to act as gloves as she desperately scaled it. A hand grabbed her foot, and she swung the other to kick it off. She screamed, fear of being caught pushing her into flight mode. She ignored the pain in her fingers and pulled herself up to the top of the fence. She had a split second to see a bunch of rubbish bags at the bottom of the other side before she was falling into them. As she hit the bags, most of the impact was cushioned, but she was still winded by it. Her boggled eyes looked over to the fence, seeing the security guards near the top of it. This was enough for the adrenaline to kick in, force her to her feet, and make her bolt out of the alley way into the street. She ran around the corner, and into an arcade. She then made her way into the bathroom and locked the cubicle.

She waited for 15 minutes. 15 long minutes.

No one would have expected her to turn into the first building she saw. They would have expected her to make a getaway. Only when her heart returned to its normal rhythm, and her breathing returned to normal did she let her feet actually touch the floor from her seated position on the toilet, and her backpack to touch the ground. She fished through the contents of her bag to find her white hoodie, swap it for the black one, take off the sunglasses, pull her hair out of its constraint so it fell freely down her back again, and repacked the bag. She walked out of the cubicle and casually regarded herself in the mirror. Jaclyn took a deep breath and told herself she'd done it. Now she had to look and act normal, like she hadn't just robbed a high end store and been chased by security guards.

As she left the arcade she saw the same security guards questioning the staff of the arcade. She made sure not to flinch. She walked up to one of the machines, entered a few quarters and started to play. She played the machines until the guards left, none the wiser. Finally she left the arcade and went to the rendezvous site. Pam was waiting for her, having found no information for the sewage plant Gotham council was planning to flatten the forest at the other side of town from her for. she'd get them though. She'd just got to find the right official to intoxicate and squeeze for information...

This is the train of thought Pamela Isley was riding when her new charge appeared by the car.

"You are later than usual. When we arrange a time, I expect you to be here."

"Yeah, sorry." Jac slipped into the car and starred at her bag. _I just committed a crime. I've actually __stolen__ something. A LOT of somethings. _

"And your reason is?"

"Erm..."

"Anything to do with that on your hand?"

"What?!" the younger woman's eyes snapped to her hands, wondering if any of the items had been dye packed or something, when she saw the phone number for the boy she met. _oh yes, there is my excuse._ "Yeah, it is. I kinda...met a boy."

"Oh! Did you?! Is he cute?" Pam giggled, her crimson locks bouncing as she did. "Does he care about the environment?"

"Don't know yet. I'll give him the boot though if he doesn't."

"Good girl." Pam knew she was just saying what she wanted to hear, but it was a start. "So what's his name?" Pam started the mommy wants to talk about your date dance in the traditional fashion. Without an ounce of subtlety and absolutely direct.

"Tim Something. Began wit think. Told me to call him Tim anyway..."

"And is he...tall?"

"Yeah."

"...handsome?"

"...yeah..." Jaclyn sank into her car seat, arms folded and sulkily looking off to one side. For some reason, she couldn't lie to this woman. "If you like that tall dark haired blue eyed prince charming sort of thing."

"OOO! He's a prince charming type? Well _they_ are the most fun!" Pam giggled and took a left, causing the bag on the blonde girl's lap to move. Jac snapped her hands to it, being reminded of what she just did. She was still shell shocked by it. And her legs hurt like hell. _I need to get some exercise. I'm going to be doing a lot of running._

"Yeah...oh. I'm going to be out late tomorrow."

"Are you now? And why is this?"

"Does it matter?" She accused; her back stiffening and her feathers getting severely ruffled. "You promised not to treat me like a kid and that I wouldn't have any curfews."

"My dear, I didn't say _no_ did I? I was just asking _why_ and preferably _where_." Pam pulled into the drive of their house, turned off the engine and turned to look at her defensive little charge. "Why will you be late tomorrow night?"

"...i'm going to a party with Tim. I told him straight though. No drinking and no nooky." Pamela smirked seductively and leaned forward, whispering huskily.

"But the nooky is the _fun _part."

"...you're not supposed to be encouraging me, by the way. Remember I'm 16."

"Why not? I'm not your mother. I'm a woman, and a friend. And sex is all men are good for. That and fertilising you. And most of them aren't good enough for that either."

"Ew ew ew ew!" Jaclyn jumped out of the car with her backpack held tightly to her chest and looked at her new guardian exasperatingly. "I'm 16! I don't _want_ to think about fertilising-whatever!"

"Well, that's entirely up to you dear." Pamela locked the car and opened the door, looking over her shoulder at Jaclyn, who looked slightly traumatised. "But if you need anything, from advice, tips or equipment, let me know. Oh, and I keep a jar of condoms on top of the fridge." Jaclyn's eyes twitched, remembering a _cookie jar_ on top of the fridge...she responded by putting her back pack on, and sticking her fingers in her ears.

"I can't un-hear things Pam. I can't un-hear them."

"Oh precious child. You _do_ make me smile."

"You make me wanna _barf_."


	4. Chapter 4

"This tea is really nice."

"It's Jasmine tea. My personal favourite." Alfred took a sip of it and sighed. Every day for 3 weeks this girl has been turning up at Wayne manor to be rejected and turned away. This time she'd actually started to cry. Alfred couldn't stand making a young woman cry. He knew that Bruce would reason that she'd forced the tears as a ploy to be invited inside for tissues and then she'd refuse to leave, or poke around...but Alfred was a gentleman. He couldn't leave a young lady outside crying. Not by _his_ hand, he couldn't. So he'd invited her in, sat her down in the kitchen where he spent most of his time and gave her tissues and a cup of tea.

"I'm sorry Alfred. I'm usually much stronger than this. I'll leave now."

"Oh? But I've just given you tea?" He looked across the table at her; as she desperately and hurriedly wiped her face dry of tears.

"You were told not to let me in and you have. I couldn't possibly get you in to trouble. I'll just have to come back tomorrow." At that she choked another sob into her hand, and blew her nose with another tissue. "S-sorry."

"Calm yourself dear. Like I said before, Master Bruce isn't here so you don't have to run off. And besides, I practically _raised _Master Wayne. I am the one person he _can't_ be angry with." Alfred patted her hand reassuringly, convincing her to sit comfortably in her seat and finish her tea.

"I have so many questions. But I can't ask you." Brenna stroked the surface of the leather portfolio on the table in front of her; a great sadness in her eyes. "You've already accused me of being a reporter so any questions I ask, you'll think that's why I'm here and won't answer me. If I could just _see_ him for 2 minutes I could clear this all up."

"Why don't you tell _me_ your business dear?" Alfred squeezed her hand affectionately. "I am more than capable of passing the message on for you."

"Oh I would Alfred...but this is a very delicate matter and I don't know how Mr Wayne will want to deal with it. If at all."

"You mean you've come to this house every day for 3 weeks, knowing that even if you do get to see him for whatever reason you have, he may still reject you?"

"Yes. But at least then he'll know."

"Know what?"

"That I'm..." Her mouth was still opened when she stopped herself. She chuckled sadly and returned to looking at the file. "Nice try Alfred. But this is personal and I can't discuss it with anyone but him first."

"If you would tell me Mam, then I can try my best to fight your case. I can tell you are a kind girl, so whatever you have to share with Master Wayne is something he would tell me anyway. You can trust me dear."

"...I want to Alfred." Alfred held her watery blue eyes in a trance. Slowly she opened her mouth, seemingly about to spill her secret when the door banged open.

"Alfred could you...who is this?"

"Ah! Master Wayne." A younger Alfred would have jumped out of his seat and started to make excuses. An experienced Alfred knew that wouldn't make a difference. "This is the young lady that has been visiting our home every day for the last 3 weeks." There was a slight bitter tone to that. the more determined the girl had become, the more insistent Alfred had been every time he'd relayed the message she'd been, and that he should just give her 2 minutes of his time. "She was quite upset so I brought her inside for a cup of my Jasmine Tea sir."

"I can see that Alfred." Bruce Wayne had just returned early from a business meeting, desperate to go out on patrol to get some good old fashioned stress relief via his fist to thugs' faces, when this happened. He'd heard Alfred in the kitchen and burst in about to ask if he could repair his cape from the bullet holes he acquired last night, to find a woman in his kitchen.

That was a definite no no.

_No one_ was allowed inside Wayne Manor without his say so.

And now he'd found out it was _that woman_ that had caused Alfred to nag and bother him every day for 3 weeks. The grief this woman had caused him without ever having met her was untrue! Alfred had even started to refuse to being him coffee when he was working on his computer through the night as a way to spite him! Well, since she had tricked Alfred into letting her into the manor, at least he could finally be done with this.

"Ms Jones wasn't it?" he narrowed his cold grey eyes on her and put on the batman persona. He oozed intimidation, causing the little woman to gulp nervously.

"...Yes sir." Brenna jumped to her feet and smoothed her fingers over her face, trying to look like she hadn't been crying. "But you can call me Brenna. It's g-good to meet you sir."

"Yes. Apparently you've been adamant about meeting me. Over an urgent matter?"

"Yes sir. I have here a file I'd like you to read. Inside is-"

"Interview questions? A business pitch? Listen lady I haven't the time of day or night for reporters or wannabe inventers or business partners. Especially ones I haven't even heard of."

"But-"

"I don't care how determined you are or what initiative you _think_ you've shone, but I'm 3 minutes away from calling the police to drag you _out_ of my house and into a cold dingy little cell where you can write a tasty little piece about what an ass I am."

"...M...Mr Wayne I'm _not_ a reporter..." Brenna felt her resolve waver, and her eyes water again. This was the most intimidating man she'd ever met. She felt small and insignificant under his gaze. Not even good enough to be stepped on.

"Oh, so you thought you'd _charm me_ by very cleverly taking advantage of an old man and then seduce me into being your free ride, is that it? You're not even attractive enough for that to work, so I suggest you move on to your next target."

"Master Wayne I think that is quite enough." Brenna was holding herself and shaking tears were slugging down her face and her lips were quivering as she resisted actually sobbing as a kind old man defended her.

"Yes I think you're right Alfred." Bruce walked up to Brenna and grabbed one of her biceps. "I'll show you out Ms Jones." Bruce dragged her out of the kitchen sobbing and didn't stop until he'd opened the door, pushed her out and shut it. He didn't see her fall to her knees and cry hard, running all the way to her car and speeding away from Wayne Manor as fast as she could.

When Bruce returned to the kitchen Alfred was stood there looking at him with such anger, it didn't look like Alfred.

"Sir, that was unnecessary and cruel."

"It may have been unkind old friend, but it was certainly necessary." The tired billionaire knew he'd crossed a line. He'd allowed Batman to deal with the situation and he'd lost serious ground with Alfred because of it. Recently the line between Bruce Wayne and Batman had become blurred. He found that Batman was his default personality, not the human Bruce Wayne.

"...her file..." Alfred lifted the leather portfolio from the desk and looked at it meaningfully. "I'll make sure to have it returned to her."

"By post Alfred. Not in person. Don't want her thinking she can come back after all." Bruce sighed, knowing life with Alfred was going to be difficult for a while. "Now, have you by any chance repaired my cape from-"

"In the batcave, sir." Alfred lowered to his seat at the kitchen table and refused to look at the man he didn't recognise anymore. He then waited for said man to leave, before taking up his china cup and sipping his jasmine tea.

_That poor girl. If she was a reporter or after seducing Master Wayne, then she was a very very good actress. She fooled me completely. _He then looked to the file and made plans to take it to the post office in the morning. He still had the note paper with her name and address on it in his tool draw.

He then looked to the file again...

_Well it isn't locked. It's just a zipper. And at least I'll have an answer as to if she was genuine or not. What brought you to Wayne Manor Ms Jones?_

Like his fingers had a life of their own he pulled the file towards him, unzipped it, opened it, and eagerly read the contents.

"Right, so we're all ready to go then?" Batman pulled on his gloves and checked his belt was fully equipped. He looked to Nightwing and Red Robin, also checking their equipment.

"We're going to patrol different quadrants of the city then rotate, yes?" Nightwing was much like Batman. When he was wearing the suit, he was the suit. All business and scowls. Red Robin however was still quite joyful and smiled on the job. That was something he'd lose with time...

"Am I on the left quadrant?" Tim Drake AKA Red Robin adjusted his mask and made sure his hair wasn't trapped in it.

"Yeah, I'm north, B-man is right and south."

"Agreed." Batman nodded, signalling they were ready to go when he heard hurried steps coming down the main stairs from the house. He turned to see Alfred running much faster than he had _ever_ seen him run in his entire life! Batman, thinking something was seriously wrong ran to the bottom of the stairs to reach him. As he did so however, he received a slap to the face. It echoed throughout the batcave, and all the batmen in the room sated at the aged butler with shock.

"Bruce Wayne." Alfred panted, eyes ablaze, and panting dearly from the exercise. But there was _no_ way that he was going to let his master go patrolling without a severe rollicking. "You are going to do exactly what I say or I will quit and leave you all tonight!" Bruce was still holding his face and staring in shocked bewilderment at his oldest friend. He'd known he'd been a bit mean with that girl, but was that really grounds to quit? "You are going to read this file. You are going to let that poor, _poor_ girl gather herself and tomorrow morning you are going to be on her door stop first thing with an apology!"

"Alfred I am not-"

"I have not raised and cared for a young man who is cruel to young women! Especially a young woman who happens to be _your daughter_." Alfred shoved the file at Batman's chest, still panting. "You will read this, do whatever DNA analysis you want to to prove it as she has kindly provided samples for you, and you will go to her tomorrow morning and absolutely _grovel_ young man. Or I will leave you and care for _her_ instead." He then rounded on the younger crime fighters, who were both terrified of the enraged Alfred. "You boys are going to make him do it, you hear me?! There will be no pride issues here. That girl, that _poor poor_ girl is a Wayne. She is a _Wayne_ and she will be treated with the dignity she deserves." Alfred then turned back to his original charge, seeing him already glued to the file. "I mean it Master Wayne. I will leave you if you don't make it up to her. I swore my services to the Wayne family for as long as I breathe. And by the honour of your father I will not allow you to be anything less than as good as a father as he was." Alfred then dusted himself off, turned on his heels and walked back towards the house as elegantly as he usually was.

Nightwing and Red Robin looked at each other awkwardly, not knowing what had happened. What woman? How had Batman been mean to her? And was this mystery woman really Bruce's daughter.

They watched as Batman slowly sank into his chair and started loading mouth swabs into the machine. He then took a swab of his own mouth and set the machine going. It would take time for the computer to analyse the DNA sequences and confirm or deny paternity. Until then, Batman wouldn't think. Bruce Wayne wouldn't think. He just sat there and waited.

"Listen, I'll take Right and south, you take Left and North." Nightwing nodded at his younger accomplice, who agreed. They slipped away to do their duty and get the _hell_ away from the tension in the batcave.

An hour later the results were in.

"...oh dear God...she's my daughter..."

The next day...

Brenna Jones wiped her nose, _again._ All she'd done since she'd run home yesterday is cry and feel sorry for herself. The father she'd always wanted to know was a cruel son of a bitch. He'd actually _grabbed_ her and thrown her out! This was of course, after calling her a reporter, a wannabe business partner and then of course, a whore. When he'd called her ugly she'd felt the urge to be sick from her sorrow. An ugly whore. That's what she thought she was.

This morning she sat at her tiny kitchen table with a cup of coffee and a bowl of corn flakes. She opened the paper, to see _him_ everywhere. She whimpered and closed it, unable to stomach even the sight of his printed name. She smothered her tears in her sleeve, not wanting to-

A knock came at the door.

She jumped nearly out of her skin!

"The postman's already been. A delivery maybe?" She got up and walked over to the door. _Hope he doesn't mind baggy green pj's and my hair down and messy._ She giggled to herself sadly. She _had_ just rolled her sorry self out of bed. The delivery guy would just have to deal with it. It was 9am on a Saturday. He couldn't expect anything more, surely.

As she opened the door however, her face fell and adrenaline started pumping though her veins.

"Ms Jones, before you say anything can I just say I'm-"

Slam.

Brenna shut the door and ran to the other side of the kitchen, staring at the door and the outline of the man stood behind it.

_What was he doing here? What more could Bruce Wayne want with me? Hasn't he had enough? Oh no, is he having me arrested?!_ She couldn't be arrested. She'd fail her CRB check and she'd never teach again!

The shadow was still there, and he knocked again. After a few moments of trying to calm her hammering heart, looking down her hallway to a certain door, and pulling a brush through her hair...she approached the door again. She took a deep breath, summoned all of her courage, and slowly opened the door again. Before he could open his mouth she blurted out at him-

"Please don't have me arrested Mr Wayne. I got it, I'll leave you alone. I won't bother you ag-"

"No, please stop." He raised his hands and she flinched, closing the door until it was ajar and only one of her eyes looked through it at him. "No please! I just." He released a heavy sigh and put his hands together, praying for her to stop looking at him like he was a monster.

Even though he knew he was. "I came to apologise."

"You're forgiven. Good day." She shut the door and backed away from it again.

But the shadow didn't disappear and he knocked again. She held her elbows and just stared at the door. He knocked again. Brenna forced herself to go back to the door and slowly opened it again with a very worried expression on her face. What else could he possibly want?

"I read the file and tested the DNA sample you gave me. I'm your father." Brenna stared at him with wide eyes. He looked mortified, probably from the way he treated her, but at that moment, she finally moved from feeling sorry for herself, to anger. Her eyes narrowed on him and she opened the door wide. Her arms folded over her front and she put her bravest face on.

"No, you're not. I'm not going to tell anyone so you don't have to _do_ anything. So go back to Wayne Manor and leave me alone." She then tried to shut the door again, but this time Bruce stepped forward and pushed against the door with one hand keeping it open.

"Brenna you're my daughter. I can't just leave you alone. I have so many questions."

"Tough. Get out of my house." His foot was over the threshold. "Right now."

"Please Brenna, I want to know you."

"No." She hissed in as hard a whisper as she could. "I didn't mean to leave my file but you dragged me out before I could grab it. After yesterday I wouldn't have told you so you can just pretend you don't-"

"Brenna Jones you are _my _daughter." Bruce forced his way inside and practically chased her to the kitchen table. "Your mother never _told_ me about you. If she had I'd have married her and I would have raised you."

"I know. But when she died she-"

"Toni's dead?" Bruce's face sank. All her mother's details and detailed account of the night she conceived Brenna was included in the file. It all checked out, and he certinaly remembered Toni Jones. "When?" He then sat himself at her table, unnerving her completely. She'd told him to _get out_ not _make yourself at home_.

"When I was 12." Brenna didn't sit. She pressed herself against the far wall, which in her tiny kitchen wasn't very far. She kept flickering her eyes from the man before her, to door down the hall. Subconsciously this didn't escape Batman's notice.

Nothing escaped Batman's notice.

"Who did you live with? An aunt?"

"No. I was adopted. Nina Kite adopted me and I love her dearly but I got a box on my 21st birthday with that file in it."

"But you're 22 now?"

"Yeah." Brenna combed her fingers through her hair nervously. Her eyes flashed to the door again. "Took me a year to get the courage up to approach you." She looked off to one side.

"I'm sorry Brenna. You wouldn't believe how many times I've been ambushed by reporters and-"

"Gold digging whores? Yeah I remember, thanks. Can you please leave now?" Bruce rose from his seat and Brenna flinched, watching his feet rather than his sad face.

"I'm so sorry Brenna. I have no excuse. I should have just let you speak. I hate how I treated you. Please let me make it up to you."

"No."

"...please..."

"No. I've seen what kind of a man you are. I hate that I came to find you. Now I can't have that dream of finding a kind loving father. I just have the knowledge that my mother was better off without you. Now please get out of my house Mr Wayne."

"...I deserved that." Bruce cleared his throat and looked to the tiny table. He took out a business card and put it on the table. "This one also has my personal number on it. Please call me. I'm sorry Brenna." He then hesitated, like he was hoping she'd change her mind and ask him to stay.

Instead she walked over to the phone and looked at him, showing him she'd call the police if he didn't leave. Bruce's shoulders dropped and he turned to the door. "Please call me. No matter what you need Brenna; I'll help you I swear. I want to take care of you. But you have to let me. Good bye Brenna."

He left.

She ran to the door and locked it behind him. She then let her tears roll down her cheeks. She'd been so desperate to find her father, but now she just wanted him to leave her alone. The terror she'd felt, the bruise she had on her arm from when he grabbed her...she couldn't be with that man for any reason. He'd only come to her out of 'duty'. She wouldn't cheapen herself by allowing herself to be controlled and walked all over like that.

She grabbed her tissues and went back to bed. Perhaps she could cry into the pillow for a while, so she'd feel better before _she_ woke up...

Bruce closed the limousine door and released a sigh. Alfred looked at him with the rear view mirror, and watched his Master do something he hadn't done since his was a child, and again when Jason had died. He dropped his head into his hands and cried. After a few painful minutes of Bruce trying not to cry Alfred melted from his pillar of rage.

"Now now Master Bruce. You apologised and explained yourself, right? Perhaps she simply needs time to process the real you from the man she met yesterday."

"She hates me Alfred. She hates me and she has every right to. She's right, her mother was better off without me." Bruce banged a fist against the leather seat. "She was an orphan at age 12 Alfred. Why didn't anyone do a proper check into her paternity? I'd have taken her Alfred. I'd have taken her as a baby. And you're right Alfred...she does look like my mother..."

"Come now sir. It hurts now but it will pass. She's a Wayne. She belongs with us. You'll just have to keep trying."

"I'll be her father or I'll die trying." Bruce wiped his face, noticing they were approaching Wayne Manor. "I don't deserve her, but I'll never stop trying to win her over."

"That's the ticket sir." Alfred parked the limo, opened the door for his master and put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "Persistence shall prevail."

"I hope so Alfred. I don't have anything else."


	5. Chapter 5

"Damn it." Jaclyn cussed to herself, berating herself for not thinking of this problem before it happened. It was 1:20pm, and she was allowed to do whatever she wanted in her room until 3pm. She had intended to try out her new stage makeup, when she noticed that all the clothes she stole had safety tags on! big ones! "Shit." Jaclyn was currently trying to use one of her smaller pen knives to try and pry the damn thing apart. To no avail. Just as she was contemplating using a bigger knife, or if anyone would notice a hole in the dress, the door opened.

Shit.

Wide green eyes locked with the evergreen orbs of her guardian, Pamela Isley. The red head had just managed to get some highly toxic saplings to bloom and came to ask if she wanted to see them...when she saw the scene before her.

Jaclyn was surrounded by clothes and accessories, all with security tags on them. There were also an array of knives and daggers. Luckily the guns grenades and all Jester Paraphernalia were all still in the metal box under the bed. The younger woman had her mouth open, frozen in the action of trying to pry the security tag off, and unsure what to say or do.

"I can explain."

"No need." Pamela lowered to her knees and started to mentally catalogue everything there. "This for the party tonight?"

"...yeah..."

"Ok. Shoes?"

"...here...?" Jaclyn put the dress and the knife down and handed over the black wedge shoes. She braced herself for an onslaught of yelling and screaming.

Pam looked them over, picked up knife and without Jaclyn seeing her, a vine crept from her blouse sleeve, slipped into the mechanism and opened it with a soft squeak.

"Right, these are nice. The wedge shoes have more support. Good choice. Are you going to wear tights, leggings or nothing with these?"

"Tights, actually. I've already shaved my legs." Jaclyn cocked her head to one side, still waiting for the torrent accusations...

"Good. Pass them to me." Jaclyn did as she was told and watched as she rid them of the security tag as well. The red head was smiling deftly as she got on with her task. It was like they were in the garden doing something normal and routine. Not removing safety tags from stolen clothes... "Now the dress. Oooooo I like the sequins. The light will dance on them and draw attention to you. Though I wouldn't have personally picked black, but there we go!" Pam giggled, finishing with the dress. "Anything else you need sorting?"

"...the handbag?"

"Ah yes let me see. Hmmm, a bit plain." She freed the bag from the tag. "Let's hang everything up." Pam put the shoes on the floor, put the tights on the door handle, one leg falling at either side of it, and then hung the dress on the top of the door to make the full outfit. "I like it. Backless too. Now, what make up are you wearing?" Jac blinked a few times, then beamed. Apparently Pamela didn't mind a bit of shop lifting...who'd have thought?

"I'm not good with makeup, but I was thinking smoky eyes and red lips? And red nails."

"Then you really should have gotten a pair of red shoes too. Never mind. You'll know for next time. And next time, you'll tell me." Pam pointed at her with a smile on her face. "I'll help you pick the right things out, and then get away without such a fuss. I'm assuming it was _you_ they were talking about in the news? Having boosted a bag full of gear and scaling a fence to get away from the cops?"

"...yeah...it was my first time." She chuckled nervously, holding her hands out before her with all the makeup she had 'boosted'.

"Right. Together next time. Promise?"

"As in..._steal_ clothes..._together...?"_

"Yes." Pam nodded deftly. "Promise me?"

"Yes Mam." She beamed at her, then picked up a phone and a pager. "I took these too, but I haven't turned them on. Didn't want them to be traced."

"I'll take those." Pam took them and patted the girl on the head. So she was a little criminal already was she? This was getting easier and easier. "I'll make sure you have the serials removed and pay as you go chips, so they can't be traced. Now how are you going to have your hair?"

"Erm...like this?"

"Oh no dear. Here, me help you."

This was embarrassing.

Jaclyn had been stood there for 30 minutes inside the VIP room of the Lexcellence club on the highstreet, and pretty boy Tim hadn't turned up yet. _After I went through all that trouble of stealing an outfit to be sexy and he didn't even bother turning up. Asshole. I'll send him a hate text later._ She sighed and pulled away from the wall, about to leave, when in came the devil himself, running towards her full pelt.

"Sorry (pant) I'm late (pant) domestic (pant) issue."

"Sure whatever." Jaclyn looked him up and down. Black dance shoes, black jeans and a red tight t-shirt. He once again had opted to carry his black leather jacket and his hair was still in curtains, but the bony mess had a sexy dishevelled look to it. Probably from him running over here.

As he looked up from her black wedge shoes, sexy black tights, little black dress, red lips and smoky eyes he gulped. The black eye shadow made green orbs stand out and look even more striking. Her golden hair had been taken up into a large silver butterfly looking clip, a wing showing either side of the blonde curly waterfall falling down her back. Her fringe was curved over her forehead and her bangs straightened to frame her face. She looked beautiful. "Done staring?"

"You look amazing." He gulped and then held out a hand. "Want to dance now?

"Sure." She said stoically, but inside she was doing belly flops. It took all of her self control not to squeal when Tim put his hand on her back, her bare back, and walked her to the dance floor.

"Man you look beautiful."

"Careful." Jaclyn looked to her hands, then his shoulders, and attentively put them there. "I'm trying to be mad that you made me wait half an hour."

"I am sorry about that. What can I do to make it up to you?"

"Make me laugh pretty boy?" Her crimson lips pulled into a cheeky smirk, and his cheeks turned the same shade.

"Laugh? As in tell a joke? Or be charming?" he then did his best to grin at her, despite his nerves. "Because I can be charming?"

"What? No jokes? Maybe Pamela is right. Maybe there is only one use for men." At that Tim almost choked, but managed to just cough instead.

"And...what use would that be?"

"What do you think?" Jaclyn was surprising herself with how bold she was being. Pam had given her a tip about how to wrap men around your pinkie finger. Despite her scepticism, it appeared to be working. Particularly when they started to sway together to the music.

"I think that we always end up talking about sex. And I assure you I have many more uses that just sex."

"Like foreplay?" she giggled in such a way, he couldn't tell if she was teasing him, or mocking him. He pulled her closer and ghosted his cheek with hers, whispering by her ear.

"I have lots of things to offer. But first, let's get to know each other."

"Or not." Jac grabbed the back of his head and pulled his mouth against hers. Their lips smoothed together roughly at first, more so because of her inexperience. It seemed that Tim knew what he was doing, as he soon angled their lips into a better position and pushed her lips open with his. She then pulled back, loving how he was caught in the moment and pined like a puppy when she took the kiss away from him. "Ok, get to know me." Luckily Pam had given her some of _her_ red lipstick, so it didn't smudge when you ate, drank or kissed anyone. "You first. Favourite colour?" Tim Drake blinked a few times first, then beamed a smile and span her in his arms. He held her from behind as they danced and blew kisses on her neck.

"Red. You?"

"Oh, lots of colours. For now it's yellow."

"Like your hair."

"Nah, but good guess. Now let me see." Jac was determined to see if he was worth being a distraction for her mission to become a super criminal and meet the Joker. "Favourite food?"

"Strawberry Jelly."

"Ooo, I love jelly. Though I'm a chocolate girl myself." Jac raised her arms to the ceiling and swayed her body against him. his hands rested on her hips and he had a hard time controlling 'himself'. "Favourite animal?"

"Hmmmm not really an animal person...dogs are nice I guess."

"I like plants myself. That and reptiles. I think they're the unsung cute hero of the animal kingdom." She turned in his arms, pressing her hands to his chest despite how that made her blush to do so. But she _would_ follow Pam's advice. "Do you know how many medicines and treatments have been derived from plants and reptiles? Particularly snakes."

"I've heard it's a lot." Tim started to play with a lock of her hair and winked at her. "My turn. You live _in town_ or out of town and travel in?"

"Travel in. But I do that a lot. My guardian works here as a scientist so I ride into town with her. What about you?"

"Just outside of town. I get a ride in too. My guardian...works at Wayne industries. As does my brother."

"Oh you have a brother?" Jac cocked her head to one side cutely, forgetting her sexy persona.

"Well I class him as a brother." Tim scratched the back of his head, smiling as always. "Dick was adopted before me but he never resented me or anything. Gave me _loads_ of hand me downs." The robin suit, the Robin bike, batarangs, martial arts staff, medical kit, utility belt, training he got from batman...so many things.

"That must be nice." Jac smiled sadly. Tim realised that mentioning family was upsetting her, and suddenly twirled her on the floor, making her bark a laugh. "Do you _want_ me to fall over?"

"Do I get to rescue you from the floor?"

"No." Jaclyn chuckled and grabbed his hands. "Can we get a drink? Water is fine."

"Sure. I'll pay."

For the rest of the night they told each other censored versions of lives so far. Tim didn't mention he was adopted by Batman to be Robin after the last one passed away, and the original robin was now Nightwing. He also missed out that his guardian was also Bruce Wayne, the multibillionaire that owned most of Gotham...

Jac didn't mention that she'd run away from her foster home, and gone home with a woman she'd met after attacking a wrecking crew, and was now perusing a life of crime to meet her crime lord father the Joker.

Other than that they were honest. They were giggling on the dance floor and stealing sly kisses for the rest of the night. When midnight struck however, Jac was being dragged outside by Tim by the hands and lips.

"We have to go home now."

"Awww why? I'm having fun!" Jac giggled and pushed him against the nightclub wall, attacking his face with teasing kisses.

"My ride is here. I can't leave you here alone. We'll take you home."

"Nope." It was then Jaclyn noticed a black limo behind her. The door opened and a young man looked up at her with an amused eyebrow raised.

"So Tim, _this_ is why you ran off from the dinner table." Jac went into defence mode, standing between Tim and this man. Her green eyes narrowed into daggers and her arms folded over her chest.

"And you are who?"

"This is Dick, my brother." Tim chuckled from behind her, feeling her relax into him at that.

"Come on I've come to take you home. Does your girlfriend need a lift?"

"No, I have a ride coming for me too. I'll just text Pamela on my new phone." She pulled it out of her black handbag and blew Tim a kiss. "Thought I might need a mobile now I have a _boyfriend_." She giggled, loving how he burned red.

"Text me your number, k?" He kissed her cheek like a gentleman, whereas she grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled his mouth into hers, slipping her tongue into his mouth and causing him to melt against her. it was only when Dick grabbed his shoulders and pulled him off backwards did he remember he had to go. Bruce held strict curfew hours after all. "I'll see you round Jac."

"See you round prince charming." She put a hand on her hip, bent forward and blew him a kiss from her crimson lips. Dick started snickering at him as he pulled the younger man into the limo.

"Are you sure we can't take you home Miss?"

"Nope. Got my own ride. Night Dick." Jac then turned her back to them and dialled Pam's number. "Yo it's Jac. Can I get a lift home?"

"_Sure. Can you get to the usual spot?"_

"Yeah that's not far from here."

"_Stay in the lit up areas ok?"_

"Will do." She put the phone down and put it back in her bag. She then made her way through the lit up streets of Gotham city centre to the usual rendezvous point near a main road. The last part of the stretch however...took her through some of Two Face territory. She looked around intently for any sign of life, before she headed down a side street. She was only 5 minutes from the main road, which was also lit up. All she had to do was get to the main road.

But alas, she wasn't that lucky.

Before she knew what hit her she found herself planted front first against a cold brick wall. She was dazed for a moment, until she realised they'd taken her purse, and they were lifting her dress up.

Then she screamed and saw red.

Jaclyn managed to get a hand behind her enough to grab a fistful of one of their heads, and bang it against the wall next to her. She pushed herself in his direction and so she could turn round. It didn't do her much good, as she got a punch to her gut for her trouble. Jac screamed and saw she'd been attacked by three men, all wearing the black and red masks to show they were Two Face's men.

Her eyes were wide and she was looking at her enemy.

She'd downed one from the force of his head hitting the wall, and that was making the other two think twice about it.

One to her left had her purse; the one to her right was holding a very long machete...

"Listen...I'm not a normal girl...if you do this I'll either kill you right here right now, or I'll find you and slit your fucking throats then. You understand?"

"Aww look, little bitch is trying to act all tough. Let's fuck her up." She started panting, pressing herself up against the wall as she desperately tried to come up with a plan where a skinny 16 year old girl, with no weapons, bested two massive guys with machetes and guns.

Her purse had a knife in it.

They suddenly charged her, punching her and kicking her. She scratched their arms, bit them wherever she could, but it was no use. She was just too weak. She'd stolen clothes from a understaffed department store. she wasn't a criminal, not like these guys. If she couldn't defend herself against these guys, how would she ever meet the Joker...?

"Get your slimy hands off my poppy!"

Just as the machete started to swing for her neck, both men froze still. Thick green vines coiled around their limbs from the ground, and then pulled them down until they were shoulder deep in concrete.

Jaclyn sank to her bum, dress torn, black eyes, busted lip and bruised ribs. The eye that hadn't swollen closed looked to see...Pamela?

No it wasn't Pamela. This woman had green skin. Her red hair was thick and wild. Green ivy leaves coiled like lace in her crimson hair, around her neck, her arms and legs. She wore only a thick green corset one piece, covered with ivy leaves. Her cleavage was huge, and her breasts jiggled with every movement she made. She stalked towards the two men, and sank to a very seductive squat in front of their heads. "Bad boys. Poison Ivy doesn't like her things being touched. Delicate little flowers like this one need tender loving care to bloom to their full potential. You both beat my little lily. Tut tut tut. Now you have die."

"No! We're Two face's men, we-"

"Bored now." Poison ivy rose to her feet, flicked her hands and all _three_ men sank into the ground screaming, only a crack in the pavement a sign that they were ever there.

The green skinned siren then turned to look at the black and blue little girl and rushed over to her. "Are you ok? I thought you'd be ok just getting over here. I didn't think they'd jump you or I would have walked to the club! I'm so sorry Jac." She pressed her fingers delicately to her face, making the girl wince. "I'll get you home and take care of you sweetie."

"...Pamela..."

"Yes." She giggled. "Smart girl. Come on now, you can ask me all about it later. Now I think you need to rest. I have lots of medicines at home designed just for this sort of thing." Large vines coiled around her tiny body and lifted her into Poison Ivy's arms. She carried the girl to the car and slipped her in. She then shivered all over, returning to a normal pigment. She'd be less obvious that way. Ivy slid into the driving seat and vines took over driving as she fussed over the beaten girl.

"...my...bag..."

"I've got that sweetie, don't you worry."

The drive home blurred in her memory, as did the one of 'Pamela' carrying her up to her room, stripping her and tending to her injuries.

It was a few days later before Jaclyn came round. She was sore, but nowhere near as sore as she should be. The drugs Ivy had were clearly stronger with more regenerative properties than anything in common circulation. Jac found herself in a plain white night dress and she was bandaged all around her middle and chest. She checked herself over, before opening her door and hobbling along the corridor. Pamela's room was empty. The kitchen was empty. She then made her way to the garden...

Poison Ivy in all her glory was sat on the floor, surrounded by affectionate and _moving_ plants. She was using some flasks to do some sort of reaction, and the vines and plants were holding equipment and helping her with her work. They all froze as Poison Ivy realised she was being watched. "I thought you'd be up soon. My babies are very potent." She raised a hand to a large red dandelion, which seemed to coo when she kissed it. "Come, sit with me." She waved a hand and lots of leaves made a cushion for her, right in front of the green temptress. Jaclyn hesitated for a moment...then hobbled over to take her seat. She released a painful huff as she lowered to her backside. "Go on then. Ask me what you will."

"You still the same woman I knew before? Still gonna keep your promise not to do any weird shit to me and stuff?"

"Of course." Ivy resumed her chemical reaction, a strange smell coming from the concoction. It was very musky.

"I'm ok then." The girl blew out, trying to hold in her pain. "I could use some more pain killers though, if that's ok."

"Done."

"Ouch!" Jac felt a burning needle prick at the back of her head, and turned in time to see a yellow plant with many spikes retreat from behind her. "That hurt. Is that safe?!" She turned to her mentor who chuckled at her.

"Of course. Don't you feel better?" Jac paused for a moment, and realised that actually, she did feel much better. "Now don't move around a lot. You may not feel the pain, but you are still injured."

"Yes boss." Jac was slightly mesmerised at how all the vegetation around them seemed to pulse with Poison Ivy's presence. "This is pretty cool."

"I think so." Ivy waved her hands and the vines took away her little chemistry experiment, and put it on a shelf. "Now, you know all about me. My name is Pamela Isley. I have a unique relationship with plants, which was a freak toxic accident that killed me and caused me to be reborn as Poison Ivy. You and all of Gotham know all about Poison Ivy. So...tell me about you and the Jester." Jac's eyes snapped at her, and she started to panic. "Hush now child. I've seen you holding a picture of her and the Joker. And when you went to the bathroom once you left your door open and the outfit was on the floor. I am not stupid. Now I just need you to fill in the blanks, so I can help you." Jaclyn looked down at her lap and thought hard.

Could she trust this woman?

She locked emerald eyes with hers, and nodded. If there was anyone she could trust, it was her. She'd taken care of her, cared for her, taught her and saved her life. She _was_ a master criminal. That's exactly what _she _wanted to be.

"If I tell you...you can't tell anyone until I'm ready. If you do, it might get me killed."

"I understand. Go on." Ivy lowered to lay on her side, the grass growing and moving to embrace her as she did.

"Well...my Mom was the Jester."

"I remember the Jester. She wasn't around very long, but she was one of the first female villains of Gotham. What happened to her?"

"...She was the Joker's girlfriend, got pregnant, didn't tell him for fear he'd kill her and well, me, and ran away. She died and arranged for her a box with her costume, weapons and a letter to find me with a full explanation if she died. She made it my choice what I did with this knowledge, but made sure that if I wanted to I could take up the mantle, so to speak."

"I see...What you need then...is a mentor? After all, you are a bit of a push over right now." Ivy leaned up on one elbow and lifted the other hand towards her elegantly. "If you help me then you have to help me whenever I need it. it's difficult fighting for the right of plants alone. In exchange I'll train you to be a true female villain, with class, and once you're good enough, I'll walk you right up to the Joker myself."

"Promise?!"

"Oh yes dear." Jac took her hand and shook it. "We _do_ need to do something about your costume however. It's fitted to a grown woman, and you are not quite there yet."

"I don't want to change it...I'll grow into it."

"Then in the _mean time_, we need to make a replica to fit _you_, don't we?" Ivy pushed herself up to her feet with the help of some loving branches, and looked down at her new pupil. "And that means we need to go _shopping_." Jaclyn grinned. She'd bet that 'shopping' with Poison Ivy would be much more fun than when she went on her own last time. "This is going to be such a beautiful partnership. Now." Ivy beckoned her with her hands, and the leaves beneath her lifted her to her feet. A very strange feeling, she thought. "First let's get you a balaclava, and a very big gun."

"...I like the sound of that!"

_At Wayne Manor_.

Alfred was just serving lunch to the two Wayne charges, when Master Wayne came in looking very dejected.

"How did it go?" Tim smiled optimistically, trying to hide that he was sending text's to his new girlfriend under the table. Alfred went nuts when he caught him doing. So uncivilised, he'd say.

"...She called the police this time. Commissioner Gordon cut me some slack..." Bruce sank into his seat, barely registering the cup of coffee his butler placed before him. "But he's told me next time they'll arrest me, not just caution me."

"Maybe she just needs some cooling off time?" Dick tried to reason, biting into his sandwich. "Leave it a little bit, then try again maybe?"

"Or perhaps someone else should go and see her." Alfred added, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'd be more than willing. But perhaps Young master Dick or Tim would be a different story. They are your family after all."

"Sure." Dick volunteered. This was a heartbreaking situation that if he could help heal, he would. Besides, it would be cool to have a sister. She was a little younger than him to, so he'd still be the eldest. "I'll go next, if you want."

"...thanks Dick."

"No problem B-man." Dick then turned to see Tim looking under the table and blushing. "Can you put that down for a minute and eat your lunch? I'm sure _Jaclyn_ can wait 15 minutes."

"Who's Jaclyn?" Bruce perked up. This was information he was not aware of. Batman did not like being out of the loop.

"Oh, well..."

"She's his girlfriend." Dick teased; play punching Tim in the shoulder. He loved making the younger man blush.

"She's cute and nice and she's new to town and I was just being nice. We've only just started dating, kinda." Tim put the mobile on the table, only to groan when Alfred confiscated it. "Can I have it back later?"

"Yes, when it is sociably acceptable." Alfred smiled, always glad to have his own way, and pushed the younger man's chair, so he also had to _sit straight_ at the table.

"So this Jaclyn is new in town? What brings her to town?" Dick snickered under his breath. Bruce was in batman mode again, drilling Tim for information. And that poor boy was starting to squirm already.

"Well if you must know...her mum died and she has no family left so she was adopted. Her new mom lives in Gotham so there you go."

"Awww Poor little orphans. See we _are_ magnets for each other!"

"Shut _up_ Dick." Tim pouted, deciding to wolf his lunch down so he could leave sooner.

"How old is she?" Tim begrudgingly looked up at his guardian and mentor. He didn't like that _he too_ was grinning at his discomfort. Then again, it was cheering him up, which the poor guy needed.

"My age."

"18?"

"Well, I guess. She's just finished school anyway."

"So she could be 16? Or 17? You need to know these things Tim. Alfred." Bruce turned to look over his chair at his old friend. "Run a background check on this girl. Let's see if there is any skeletons in her closet shall we." He then winked, showing he was kidding. At this Alfred schooled his features and looked to Tim.

"What is her last name Master Tim? And her appearance?"

"What? No! You're not running a background check on my girlfriend!" Tim whined, looking to Dick for help.

"It's alright buddy I'll help." Dick patted the nervous boy's shoulder and turned to the family butler. "She's about Tim's height. I'd say around 16 at the youngest, blonde hair and green eyes. That help?"

"Yes sir, thank you." Alfred pretended to jot the details down in his note book, and everyone enjoyed the private joke on Tim.

"That is _not_ helping me!" He gave his brother a damn good punch in the arm, and turned to Bruce. "You can't be serious! How am I ever going to bring her over one day if you've been running background checks on her?!"

"Oh dear, it must be love. He wants to bring her home to see mother. Would that be you or me?" Dick pointed between him and Bruce. "Because you're the guardian here so I think that means you."

"Oh no, I'm definitely his father figure. You're the nice one. You're mommy."

"Maybe Alfred is the mother figure?"

"Perhaps I am Master Dick."

"STOP IT?!" Tim yelled comically, waving his arms around. "This isn't funny! Tell me you're not serious?!"

There was an awkward silence, and then everyone started laughing at the poor lad. "Geez that wasn't funny guys." Tim moodily got up from his seat, took his phone from Alfred and sulked out of the room.

"Sir, if I may, what is a booty call?" Bruce and Dick snapped their eyes up to Alfred who had a straight face. "It came up in the text on the screen as master Tim was having his lunch."

"...oh man. You know what this means." Bruce looked to Dick, who held his arms up in surrender.

"No way, I am _not_ giving him the sex talk."

"It's your turn. Alfred talked about girls to me, I had the talk with you-"

"And _damn_ near traumatised me!"

"And I also told Barbara about boys, which was also very difficult, and Jason. Therefore, it's your turn for the next three at least." Bruce chuckled and rose from his seat, looking from Dick who had dropped his head into his hands in shame, and to Alfred who still had a brow raised at him.

"Sir?"

"Ah Alfred. A booty call insinuates that the participants meet up for..."

"Sexual endeavours." Dick finished and made a quick exit... "...better get this out of the way..." ...and decided to get the traumatising over and done with sooner rather than later.

"...oh my..." Alfred shook his head. "It's mobile telephone's fault sir. Heinous things, sir."

"Indeed Alfred. Indeed."

"So what's the plan?"

"Follow me."

"That it?"

"Pretty much." Ivy giggled at her, fluffing her hair on her shoulders, the ivy leaves in her hair wriggling happily. Both women walked into a department store, a big one this time, and both women dropped their long rain coats. "Good Evening Gotham." She threw her arms out and the ground shook.

"Nobody move!" Jaclyn shouted through her balaclava, aiming a big shotgun at the security guard contemplating making a move on Ivy. He soon stopped and took a step backwards. That was all the time Ivy needed to encase the building in thick vines with large purple oozing spikes. She then pulled a pouch from her belt and showed Jaclyn the seeds.

"Now watch carefully." She winked at her apprentice, and then threw a handful into the room. She then pulled a water gun from her side and sprayed them. Immediately they grew to the size of hippos and landed on anything living. One aimed itself for Jaclyn, but with a wave of Ivy's hand, it went elsewhere. Within minutes of crazed screaming, everyone was encased in stasis pods. "Right, now reach in and carefully remove anything of value from them, but don't get your head in there, and don't inhale or ingest any of the pod's juices."

"Yes Mam!" armed with a shotgun, a sack and a grin Jaclyn set to work. Working with a professional like Ivy was going to make this much much easier. She slid her arm into what looked like a fold in the pods and 'liberated' the occupants of their jewellery and wallets if she could reach them. She then lugged the heavy sack back to Ivy who was wrapped in lots of different coloured fabrics.

"Are you _sure _I can't convince you to wear something different? Something Green maybe?"

"That's sweet but I want to look like my mum, please."

"And leather?"

"Yes Mam."

"Alright. It's not as breathable, but I can get you some stretchy leather so it's moveable. Easier to wash I suppose." Ivy signed, and pulled a pink flower bud from the ivy on her neck. She placed it on the ground, and sprayed it with water. The flower expanded to the size of a car, and opened wide on its side. Large roots dug down into the ground, making the ground shake. "Get into the flower poppy."

"Yes Mam." Jaclyn was very obedient, she decided. This was useful. She might last 2 minutes in this business if she listened like that. Ivy smiled, but could feel through her connection to the vines outside the building that _someone_ was trying to get inside the building. She would bet her garden it was Batman or one of his acrobatic idiots. She nodded to her vines getting them to wrap around the large rolls of stretchy yellow and black leather. She put them into the flower head along with her protégé, and then jumped in just in time for Batman to burst through the vine covered door. He was holding some sort of metal bat shield, which was now sizzling from the acid oozing from the vines outside.

"Oops, too late. Bye bye Big Bat." Ivy waved him goodbye as the flower head snapped closed and seemed to vibrate madly.

"What's happening?!" Jac held onto Ivy, which she thought was very cute.

"We're tunnelling underground. This is a homing bud. Once it germinates it automatically tunnels underground to find the soils it seeded in. It also buries the tunnel it makes behind it as it goes. Did you get lots of pretties?"

"I think so. Got some gold and silver watches. Some bracelets and a couple of rings. Oh and about 5 wallets."

"Very good. I know we weren't out very long, but at this stage it's more important that you don't get caught before you are ready to defend yourself."

"I get that."

"We'll get your costume ready and then cause some real mayhem, how's that?"

"Sounds good to me. Just let me know when we get there." Jac held onto her mentor tightly, closing her eyes tight and trying not to think about how deep underground they were and how easily they could _die_ at this depth...


	6. Chapter 6

Over the next few days it was all go for Jaclyn Ester. By day she met Tim in town for milkshakes and romantic dates. They watched films at the cinema, plays at the cinema (all comedies of course) and once they went ice skating. By night she would done unisex clothes and a balaclava and do a supper quick heist with Poison Ivy. For weapons, shoes and even toiletries once. Apparently the makeup she'd bought for her face would come off the moment she tried to do anything so she needed some industrial stage makeup.

But finally, finally she was ready. Tonight was the night. Tonight she was going to finally make an appearance as The Jester. Pamela had been planning a hit on the central council building for a while. Apparently they were planning to wipe out a whole forest to make a sewage plant they only needed because there were too many people living in Gotham...at least that's how Ivy worded it.

It was getting late and it was nearly time to go. Jaclyn had quite enjoyed making her costume with the red head. She imagined that it would have only been more exciting had she made the costume and be able to make her début with her mother.

Jaclyn Ester dropped her bath towel to the floor and looked at the costume laid out on her bed. She took a deep breath, and made the change from Jaclyn Ester, to the Jester.

She put on tight socks and then black panties. She slid into the tight black hot pants and then one leg at a time into the thigh high leather boots. Ivy had made her walk around in the boots for the last few days to break them in. _There's nothing worse than going out to cause some havoc, with new heels on. By the end of the night you __want__ Batman to catch you so you'll be carried to Arkham and won't have to walk in your shoes anymore. _

Next she attached the boots to her shorts with the suspenders. Then she pulled her yellow corset dress over her head until it was perfectly in place. Just like her mother's, just a little higher than her shorts, pushed her breasts together (albeit she wasn't quite as endowed as her mother was), and laced up at the back. At that point Ivy appeared to help her 'strap in'. Then she pulled on her black bicep high gloves and reached for her hat.

"Oh no dear, that goes on _last_. _Now_ we do the face and hair." Ivy seemed to be thoroughly enjoying mothering a new super villain. She showed her how to make her skin smooth by using a foundation base first, then applying the white background. Ivy even held her hair back for her so it didn't get stuck in her golden locks before it 'set'. "This stuff won't come off until you _take_ it off with product. It's the same stuff Harley uses. She _swears_ by it." The proud embodiment of Mother Nature watched as she gave herself the black panda eyes and long yellow eye lashes The Jester was famous for. Then the black lipstick. "Now set it." Jaclyn grabbed the setting spray, closed her eyes and sprayed her face. She waited the recommended 30 seconds then opened her eyes. Everything was perfect. Her golden hair fell down her back and Ivy handed her the long yellow hat with the golden bell dangling at the end of it. "Oh Jaclyn you look just like your mother." As soon as the hat was pinned to her head the girl's eyes narrowed.

"Not Jaclyn." She slowly turned to Ivy, looking very much like a woman. "I'm the Jester." Motherly Ivy left and Poison Ivy in all her womanly toxic glory smirked back at her.

"Well then Jester. We have a council building to trash."

"Let me just get my toys." Jester giggled and bounded over to her metal box of goodies. She slipped bullets into their holes and daggers into their holders. She then picked up two golden eagle guns (a present for Ivy) and fastened them to the side of her boots, against her thighs. "Now I'm ready to play!"

"Let's go."

"Alright we're here." Ivy and Jester squatted by the entrance to the council building, all clear so far. They could see a guard in the door, and Ivy said that there were definitely 5 more inside. "Follow my lead."

"Yes boss." Ivy placed her hands on the ground and released a deep breath. Small ivy vines twisted along the ground towards the glass doors. They climbed in-between then and with a click, the doors were unlocked.

"Right, let's go. Remember, just like we planned."

"Yes Boss."

Ivy lead the way, pushing the doors open and ensnaring the guard they could see before, and then another two. The other three were on them in no time. The Large Venus Fly Trap opened just in time for Ivy to throw one of them inside. The other two were on Jester. She released a manic laugh, pulled her guns from her thighs and let loose. One she got immediately in the leg, the other she pinned behind a desk. "Oh Mr Policeman. I'm just a little girl who wants someone to play with. Don't tell me...you're afraid... of a little JEST?!" Jester saw his reflection through a mirror above the desk, aimed at it, and sent glass falling down on him like cruel snow. He covered his head and Jester pole vaulted with her hand over the desk. She shot him in each leg and kicked the gun away from him. "I'm bored now. We moving on now boss?"

"Well done Jester, but let's remain cautious, shall we?

"Yes booooooooossssss." Jester hop skipped and jumped after her mentor as they went through the building. There would be more guards.

As they encountered them Ivy fed them to her plants, and Jester would shoot them in a limb.

"Batman will show up any minute. We have to get this information." Ivy stressed as they got to the right computer station. "Ah ha! Watch the door whilst I get this."

"Yes boss." Jester slid down to her leather covered knees and used the side of one of her larger daggers to see round the corner. "Erm boss...describe Harley Quinn to me."

"...now?" Ivy was furiously typing away.

"Yeah now boss."

"Alright. Tall, big breasted, acrobatic-"

"Wearing red and black and a two prong jester's hat?"

"...yes..." Ivy then stopped typing and looked at her apprentice.

"Well she's down' the hall and she's coming this way. What do you want me to do?"

"She's a friend...usually..."

"Usually?!" Jester hissed, not liking this development. If Harley was here, then the Joker could be here. Oh dear god she wasn't ready to see him yet!

"I'm nearly there."

"So is she?!"

"Nearly..."

"Oh screw this." Jester jumped out of the door way and startled Harley Quinn enough to raise a very large gun at her. "Don't shoot!"

"Why not? Seems like fun." Her lips were black with a red tint to them, particularly when the light shone on them. Those lips were curled into an eerie grin as she looked down the barrel with those mad blue eyes.

"You're a friend of Ivy, right?" Jester was holding her guns by her sides. "I'm running with her. We're hitting this place."

"...YO IVY! YOU HERE?!"

"...YES..."

"SHE WITH YOU?"

"YES!" Harley nodded, seemingly content with this explanation and put the gun back into her belt.

"Well I'm Harley Quinn, pleased to meetcha!" She threw her arms out and bowed forward.

"I'm the Jester." Harley bristled at that, and snapped back up to look at her.

"No you fucking ain't pudding. _You_ are far too young." Harley narrowed her baby blues at the yellow and black clad woman before her. that made Jester feel her heart plummet to her stomach, and her hands twitch on her guns.

"She's her kid." Ivy appeared next to her and put her hand on her shoulder, letting her know she was safe and to trust her. "She's taking up the title through inheritance as her mother's passed. I'm teaching her the ropes."

"Oh! So you're like, Jester Junior then, huh?" Harley then started to jump up and down excitedly. "Just you _wait_ 'till I tell Mr J! He'll be so excited. Why didn't you say so pumpkin?!" Harley then grabbed her wrists and span her around with her. "I came in here to see my friend as your break in was filmed and is all over the news, and I find another clown!"

"Wait, did you say we were filmed?!" Ivy pulled the pink bud from her ivy necklace and looked for the nearest exit.

"Oh yeah. Right well I'll take her now then Red. Come on puddin', Mr J will be so excited to meetcha. Did you know he taught your Maa everything she knew?" Harley was pulling her towards the front doors, when a vine grabbed both Harley and the panicking Jester.

"This way!" Ivy yanked them away from the door just in time for Batman and Nightwing to burst through the doors. Batamerangs started firing everywhere and Jester reached out, pulling Harley's head down just in time to miss one.

"Thanks sugar!"

"THIS WAY!" Ivy screamed, pulling Jester into her arms and pulling her towards the back window. Harley must have got the message as she launched a hammer at the window, smashing it before they jumped out of it. Jester started to scream as they fell towards the ground...and a large pink flower flew up to _eat_ them. As it grabbed them, it hurtled back towards the ground and the familiar feeling of the plant digging and tunnelling could be felt. "Next time I say this way...do as you're told!" Ivy cuffed Jester, making her pout and Harley laugh. That was until she was cuffed too. "That goes for you too!"

"Geez Red I came in to warn you and I get a beatin'. I'd have stayed home if I wanted to get hit for nothin'." The three women were very closely packed together in the plant and for a good 5 minutes it was very awkward. "So Jester Junior, you new to this then?"

"Yup."

"I like the guns. Where did you get them?"

"Stole them from the gun market on the highstreet."

"I like that place. Not good for knives though. And Mr J _loves _his knives...kinda like you..." Harley looked at all the knives littering her costume. "I prefer a good hammer or baseball bat myself. Or a chainsaw."

"Ooooo Chainsaws sound fun." Jester's eyes lit up at the thought of that. "But where would I put it?" She looked down at herself and locked eyes with Harley again, who started howling at her. Before they knew it all three women would chuckling all the way back to Ivy's place. When the flower finally emerged in green skinned villainess's home, they all clambered out and dusted themselves off.

"Right JJ, Let's go."

"Oh no, actually." Ivy stepped in, pulling the young girl into her arms. "We have a deal. She's my sidekick whilst I train her. And she has a thing for poisons so it's all good." Harley cocked her head to one side and started giggling.

"Oh silly, Mr J doesn't care about what deal you've made with her." Harley put a hand on her hip and the other pulled a burn phone from her back pocket. "All Mr J cares about is that the Jester belonged to his gang and she went and pissed off. He was so MAD about that, let me tell ya!" Harley giggled and started texting into her phone. "Nah, in his eyes you're the Jester's brat, and therefore you automatically became his property by proxy. Besides, the first Jester owes Mr J a debt. And she didn't finish paying it when she fucked off. You see? So _you_ will have to pay it." She then raised to phone to arm length. "Pose for the picture honey." Jester just blinked, and Harley whined. "No, _really_ I mean _pose_."

"Oh, erm, like what?" She looked to Ivy who looked really concerned for her little protégé.

"Like if you were to see Batman. Come on. Pose already!"

"Oh fine." Jester pulled her Guns out and aimed them both at Harley, making her jump back. "...what? I'm freaking posing already!"

"Oh, right, ok pumpkin if you wanna pose all angry then fine." Harley snapped the pic and then looked intently at it. There was a rage bubbling in her deep emerald eyes. Her grin was pulled back over her teeth... Quite a lot like... "I want a nice one too sugar."

"Oh dear lord." Ivy put her head in her hands, clearly finding this very very annoying. But not as nearly as annoying as the model.

"Nice, nice! I don't _do_ nice! I am _not _a nice person!" Jester folded her arms, guns sticking out at either side and her face in a grumpy pout.

"That will do." She papped it, and then put her phone away. "So Red, how you been?"

"Busy. Being a mentor is a full time job." Ivy put her arm around her disgruntled charge.

"I'm sure it's been tough with your fight for the green army, right?"

"Yes it sure is, but I'm enjoying it."

Jester looked from each of the women. They were friends? Really? There was some _definite _hostility between the blonde and red bombshell.

"Ah! Here's my ride. Over here!" Harley waved a rickety black beetle down to pull up by the garden.

"DAMN it Harley! You know it pisses me off when you run off without my permission like..."

Frozen in motion as the man who got out of the car was none other than the Joker. He slowly lowered his other foot to the floor as he stared at her, like a ghost from his past.

He was just like the picture in her metal box. Tailored purple suit, green vest, purple bow tie and an orange flower on his chest. His hair was a mottled messy green, his skin white and his lips red. But those eyes, the photograph didn't capture how wild and chaotic his green orbs were.

And those green eyes were locked with hers.

Harley jumped onto the Joker, hugging his side and kissing his cheek.

"I'm sorry Mr J, but Ivy and her new brat needed help."

"...new brat...?"

"Yeah." Harley ran a hand back through his hair and looked over at the frozen women (meaning Ivy and Jester). "Apparently the real Jester is dead, so her baby girl is taking over. She's going by her Maa's name though."

"...The Jester..."

"Yeah. You ok Mr J? I know I haven't made your dinner yet but-oof!"

The Joker shrugged her off and stalked quickly towards the frozen girl before him. He reached out for her, his eyes ablaze with rage, about to grab her, when a wall of leaves got in the way. Two large leaves engulfed the girl and pulled her underground. Now she wasn't in a trance she started to panic. Ivy had just submerged her for her own protection. But who's protecting Ivy?!

"IVY?!" She sheathed her guns and started to hammer the leaves with her hands. "IVY?!"

"..."

Jester stopped and pressed her ear to the leaf.

"...She's my fucking property! I OWN her FUCKING ass! And I'll do whatever the FUCK I WANT with her!"

"No, I have a deal with her. She's mine! I-AAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"No Ivy!" Jester whimpered, listening desperately for her mentor and friend.

"Give her to me."

"...no."

"Give her to me or I'll start shooting the fuck out of your plants."

"NO!"

"Then FUCKING GIVE HER TO ME!" The Joker roared so loudly it sent shivers down her spine.

That's how it went for the next 10 minutes. The Joker would demand that Poison Ivy gave Jester up, then when she didn't he'd blast through some of her precious plants. Then he'd kick the shit out of her, then he'd start again.

"I'll go with him! Let me go with him!" She heard Ivy scream in pain and that was the last straw. "Fuck this. She pulled out her guns and aimed up, hoping no one was in the way... She unloaded her guns into the top of the plant and shredded her only protection. She reloaded, sheathed the guns and clawed her way out of the plant trap. As Jester pried the top open and found she was barely under the surface of the ground, she scrambled out to see Ivy on the floor, a bloody mess. And her garden...her plants were blasted to pieces with shotgun balls and pulled to pieces. Joker had really gone to town on both nature and her carer. Jester pulled herself to her feet, eyes moving form Ivy to her father. He had grabbed another fist full of her red hair, about to smash her against the floor when he stopped, apparently seeing her.

"I'll go with you." Her voice trembled. "I didn't know my mother owed you a debt and I'm sorry. Please stop hurting my friend."

"...n...no..." Ivy whimpered on the floor, deep blue bruises all over her body.

"I have weapons and supplies I need in the house. Can I get those?" her face was blank as she stared into the madness that was the Joker.

"...Harley, go with her."

"Yes sir Mr J!" Harley grabbed her elbow and dragged her into the log cabin. "Look, you've done the right thing. I hate seeing Red like that, but she was saying no to the Joker. You _don't_ say no to the Joker."

"I see." Jester scrambled into her room and shoved everything she could find into her suitcase and did it in record time. She didn't want the Joker to get mad that they were taking too long and take it out on Ivy. "Done." Harley looked around and nodded, grabbing her elbow and dragging her outside of the log cabin.

"We're ready to go Mr J!" Harley dragged her over to the car and shoved her and the suitcase into the backseat. Harley then jumped into the driving seat and patiently waited for the Joker. "Listen puddin', the best way with the Joker is to say nothin' unless asked, say what he wants to hear, and always do as you're told. Never, ever, question him or disagree. Do that, and you'll be fine."

"What was that?" Joker snapped, throwing himself into his seat and folding his arms angrily over his chest. The knuckles of his white gloves were stained with Ivy's deep green blood.

"Just tellin' puddin there if she does as she's told she'll be ok."

"...Yeah sure."

The rest of the way there no one said a word. Harley reached for the radio button, only to stop when she heard the Joker growl at her. the freaky thing was though, that every now and again Jester caught the Joker looking at her intently through the mirror. As they pulled up inside a bustling warehouse Harley threw herself out of her side, and pulled the door open for the clown prince of crime. He then hesitated, and turned to open the door for Jester. She froze and looked to Harley, who nodded at her frantically. Slowly Jester slid out of her seat and stood there obediently with her suitcase, waiting for further instructions. "What's your name?" she almost didn't believe he'd spoken, until he asked her again with more malice. "What's your fucking name princess?"

"Jester." He grabbed the suitcase from her and threw it at a random thug.

"Take that to the room next to mine." He snapped, then turned back to her. "Your _other _name, puddin." He ground out at her, reaching out to take her wrist. She side stepped out of the way, and felt her heart hammering against her chest.

"Jaclyn Ester." She watched him for any sudden movements. He then seemed to get even angrier and snarled to one side. He then grabbed a random thug and kicked the living shit out of him.

"I'll take you to your room JJ." Harley pushed her towards her new room, an empty office with a dressing table and a tiny bed. Her suitcase was on the bed and she sat next to it. "Stay here. Be ready to come out when told or else, okay pumpkin?" She nodded and Harley left her to try and calm her puddin.

Jaclyn whimpered, but held her tears in. This was not a place to show weakness.

She'd gotten her wish and got to see the Joker...

...now she wished she'd never had this stupid idea. Her friend was beaten to a bloody pulp, and then for no reason he just started beating the shit out of one of his _own_ henchmen! This hadn't happened how she'd hoped. Not at all...

Later that day Harley brought her some food and took her to the bathroom to wash and go to the toilet. She then took her back to her room and locked her in there. It took her hours to go to sleep that night, knowing she was next door to the Joker.

The next morning after she woke up with the Joke stood over her, staring down at her with conflicted eyes. She'd washed her makeup off the night before, so he could see her real face now.

"What was your mother's name? Oh, and don't say Jester. Then I'll need to break something again."

"Jane Ester." She replied immediately, frozen on her back to the bed as she looked up at him.

"And how old was she when you were squirted into her belly?" His arms were crossed, his nostrils were flared and his eyes were hot with rage.

"...22, I think."

"I knew it!" Joker roared and kicked the dresser over. "She left me to be with another man! Then she got up the fucking duff with his seed, the bastard!" Joker grabbed a leg of the dresser and smashed the shit out of the furniture. "Bet she couldn't come back then. Well no, I'd have killed her for having someone else's fucking _dick_ in her! FUUUUUUUUCCCCKKK!"

Then he turned, fully enraged to see Jaclyn had thrown herself to the furthest corner from him and sat there in fear of him. That seemed to piss him off more, as he continued to scream with rage as he barged out of the room.

So...Joker thought Jester left because she either shacked up or fell in love with someone else...good. He didn't know she was his kid. Then again at this point nothing was good. He seemed like he might snap her head at any moment at this rate.

The rest of that day she stayed in her room and dressed into normal clothes. Jeans and a blue t-shirt with a cartoon fish on it.

Harley cared for her like before, taking her to the bathroom to freshen up and get something to eat.

Jester had vanished by day 3. She was sad little Jaclyn once more, just like she was in the attic of the foster house. No purpose, not idea what comes next, and no desire to experience life at the moment as it was. The urge to escape however was nonexistent. This was the Joker. You didn't escape the Joker. For fear of what he'd do to you when he _caught_ you...

Day 4 she woke up with the Joker sat on the edge of her bed, staring at her.

"You look like her."

"...ok..." if she just agreed with him, surely he couldn't get pissed at her, right? That's what Harley had said. Agree with him and say what he wants to hear.

"...you can leave the room. But leave the warehouse and I'll dice you like mince beef."

"...thank you sir..."

"You're welcome." His eyes were intense and his face was set as a blank unreadable mask. He rose from her bed a moment later and left her to it.

She didn't dare leave the room.

Harley however didn't come to take care of her that day, so she had to.

Slowly the door creaked open when her need for the toilet became too great and she looked across the hall. This place was teaming with clown thugs. Why did they have to wear those horrid evil clown masks. Why not just paint your face? Or not at all? Really? Jaclyn slowly made her way over there with her head down and got all the way to the toilet without incident. She freshened up, and then made her way back.

Half way across the hall a hand grabbed her shoulder and whipped her round to face him. He was one of the larger thugs, and he had several smaller ones with him.

"Well look here lads. The Boy's hostage has come out to play." She shrugged him off and tried to go back to her room, but again he grabbed her.

"You _really_ shouldn't touch me. I'm trying to behave myself. I'm angry and scared and that makes me fucking dangerous." Slowly her head turned and she looked over her shoulders with smouldering green eyes. "I don't usually have to ask twice."

"Ah she thinks' she's cute. The boss always lets us play with the hostages." One of them grabbed their crotch in anticipation.

That was a mistake.

What happens to a scared animal in a corner?

It goes bat shit mental and fights back even harder. Even worse when that trapped scared animal had a blood lust and a temper problem...

Jaclyn snapped. She screamed with rage, threw herself at the largest thug and bit his cheek hard. As he screamed from the pain, she pulled a knife from his belt, and slashed at him.

His throat gushed with blood and covered her face and hair, before his body fell to the ground.

The other thugs took a step back as they looked at her with crazy in her eyes.

"Awww what's the matter boys? I'm the boss's hostage. The boss always lets you play with the hostage, right? So." She lowered her stance, and grinned manically, her mind numbing to the euphoria of blood lust. She'd never tasted it in such glee before. She'd never relinquished herself to the full extent of her rage before...it felt good. "Let's play motherfuckers!" She sprang at one guy that pulled a gun out at her. She sliced at his wrist holding the gun, then into his lower gut, then pulled the large blade upwards. She stepped back and his entrails fell out before his body fell to the floor. "It's amazing what you learn on the internet isn't it? Now COME ON! Don't you want to play with me anymore?!"

They all backed off her, surrounding her in a circle. "But that's no FUN!" she threw her arms wide, open to any challenge. But the men all backed off her.

Then the sound of a single applause echoed through the hall. Slowly Jaclyn turned, her bloody face locking into a trance with the Joker and an unnerved Harley Quinn. They'd come out when they heard the commotion, and the Joker had just watched. His grin was wide as he walked up to her, still clapping.

"Well that was a hoot!" Joker walked straight up to her grinned at her. "Have fun?"

"...yes..."

"Do you do-" he waved to the two bodies on the floor. "-this often?"

"No. Usually I stop at bodily harm. But I'm feeling a little stressed at the moment." Joker giggled and took her arm, making her drop the knife, and led her back to the bathroom.

"Wash up." He commanded. "I'll get Harley to bring your clothes." He leaned out of the bathroom, barked that order at his number 2, and then shut the door. Jaclyn got in the shower and closed the curtain. She undressed and dropped the clothes outside. As she washed the blood from hair and skin, he began to speak to her.

"Was he good to her?"

"...Excuse me?" Jac heard Harley enter the room and give Joker her clothes. She hurried up with cleaning her hair.

"Your father." Jaclyn froze. "Was he good to your mother? I don't mean a good guy or a bad guy. Just _good_ to her." He paused, and she heard him fumble with his words. "I now I wasn't."

"...I don't know. I never knew him."

"Did he make her give up being the Jester?" Jaclyn thought hard about that question. In a way, the Joker's anger _did_ make her give this life up.

"Yes sir. She did say that." She heard the sound of him kicking _something_.

"She's dead?" He hissed. Jac could see the silhouette of his body bent over the sink through the shower curtain.

"Yes sir." She was nearly done, just had to rinse.

"How. Was she...no one...they better not have-"

"Heart attack sir. It was natural causes." She could at least give him that much.

So it was true. The Joker _did _love the Jester once. Perhaps he still does, in his own way. He is still angry at her leaving, clearly.

"Why are you trying to take up her mantle?"

"So I have purpose."

"Good answer." Joker chuckled sadly to himself. "I do this because I'd addicted to the chaos and I can't stop." She froze, not expecting that admission. "I miss her." or that. "You done?"

"Y-yes sir." A hand and a towel appeared at the end of the curtain. She turned the shower off, took the towel and dried herself in the shower.

"Do you know what your father's name was?"

"No." She told herself she didn't know what the Joker's real name was. That way, it wasn't a lie...

"Damn. I really want to kill him." Joker sighed. "Well you got your killers streak from him anyway, so at least he gave you something useful...your mother would never kill. Not unless I made her. She was so...(cough) you ready yet?"

"I am now sir." She stepped out of the shower in her towel and saw the back of the Joker. He was facing the door and he was very close to it.

"Dress." She looked down to see...her Jester costume? "You're coming out with me tonight. We're going to rob a bank."

"Wait...I'm going to rob a bank..._with_ _you?!_" She couldn't restrain her excitement as she hurriedly got dressed, hopping around in her haste. "I've never robbed a bank before."

"Well toots, don't get excited. You're staying in the car." Her shoulders sank at that, but at least she wouldn't be in that little room with all these men. "We're hitting Gotham Bank. It should be...a blast!" There seemed to be a little bit of music to his voice again. "...you like diamonds?"

"I've never owned a diamond." Jaclyn looked in the bathroom mirror. She was ready except her makeup, her hat and her corset dress needed lacing up at the back.

"Well there are safety deposit boxes with _lots_ of them in. If you're good and stay in the car, I'll let you have some...would you like that?"

"I would sir. I just need Harley to lace me up and then I'll put my face on and I'm ready." The Joker opened the door and snarled at Harley to get in there. She scuttled in and laced her up.

"You ok Pumpkin? You know you had me scared for a bit there. Almost thought you were...never mind." She laughed nervously and pulled her out of the bathroom. "Just face paints huh? We'll be in the car. Bring your best toys." Harley ran off to join Mr J, who seemed to be finally cheering up.

Jester quickly armed herself to the teeth, tied her hair back, covered her face in white paint, then the black panda eyes, then the yellow long lashes and black lips. She sprayed it to it would set, and then let her hair down. The hat was then pinned in place, and she ran for the car. It seemed the clown thugs weren't going to bother her anymore...

As she skidded to a stop she saw that Harley was in the driver's seat and the Joker was in the back. She reached for the front passenger door when she heard him clear his throat. He was patting the seat next to him in the back with one hand, whilst the other held a small bazooka. _He wasn't kidding when he said it was going to be a 'blast'. _

"Hurry up doll face." Joker ground through his manic grin, sending terrified chills down her spine. Again. Damn this man was scary.

"Yes sir." Jac pulled the door open and sat as close to the door as possible. That was, until he threw his arm around her shoulders and yanked her against him.

"Now pumpkin, we've gotten off on the wrong foot." He put the Bazooka down and started to gesture with his other hand. "See, I have a bit of a temper and your mother was my property. She left, which I didn't give her permission to do. And I didn't say she was allowed to die either!" He chuckled like they were gossiping around a water cooler about someone being caught in the changing rooms with a hooker at last night's Christmas party. "So I see it that you are a replacement. So you belong to me, understand toots?"

"Yes sir." She nodded and took a deep breath. _This guy is insane. He could kill me for any reason at any time. fuck this is hard._

"So, I _might_ have taken out my frustrations on your old teacher. But that's understandable, right puddin'?"

"Oh yes Mr J." Harley nodded as she drove discreetly towards the bank. There were other unmarked cars following her as this was going to be a big hit.

"See!" Joker pointed from Harley to Jester. "Harls agrees too! And the plant princess is her friend!" He nodded at her, and after a few moments Jaclyn realised she was also supposed to agree.

"Yes sir."

"Right!" Joker relaxed into his seat and patted her shoulder. "So you are mine now. Understood?"

"Yes sir."

"You afraid of me kid?" Jac stiffened in his arms, only to relax when he started to howl with laugher. "Of course you are! I'm the Joker!"

"The Clown King!"

"The Clown Prince of Crime!"

"My Mr J!" Harley and Joker cackled with laughter, the car swerving with their mirth. Without thinking the blonde girl grabbed a fistful of the Joker's suit and clung to him, squeaking as the car almost hit a fire hydrant. She then froze, realising what she'd done and tried to pull back.

"S-sorry-I"

"Watch your fucking driving Harley!" Joker kicked the back of her chair and hissed at her.

"Sorry Mr J."

"We're crimelords. Not bad drivers!"

"Yes Mr J."

Joker held her against him in that position, even when she tried to pull back.

"You sure you don't know who your pops is? If I find out your lying to protect him from me I'll gut you."

"N-no sir."

"I'll find out." Joker raised a green brow at her, his molten green eyes baring into her. "I always find out eventually."

"Yes sir."

"...fine. I'll find your dad for you!" Joker practically bounced in his chair and giggled behind his free hand. "So you're blonde and have green eyes. well your Maa had blue eyes. so he has green eyes. he could have any hair colour...Jester was 22 so you'd be how old squirt?"

"16 sir."

"Right. Harley!"

"Yes Mr J?" The busty harlequin pulled up into an alley overlooking the Bank. She then turned in her seat to face her criminally insane lover with a matching grin.

"Our accountant keeps a file on everyone we have in the gang with dates, right? So I can track down traitors and rats, right?"

"Yes Mr J. Want me to call him for a list from 16 years ago Mr J? Oh you don't think it was one of your boys, do you?" Harley seemed to be amused by the scandal.

"_No, idiot_." Joker snapped at Harley and pulled Jester against his side protectively. "Jester wouldn't let anyone touch her but-someone from back then might have _seen_ something!"

"Oh, right boss man!" Harley slipped out of the car and went opened the door next to her main man. Joker took his arm from around Jester, who immediately released a breath she hadn't realised she'd been hold in, and patted the top of her head through the yellow Zelda-esk hat.

"Now remember, stay in the car or I'll use you in my next dame of whack-a-mole. Got it?"

"Yes sir. I'll stay in the car."

"Good girl." Joker slammed the door behind him and held the bazooka over his shoulder. "Right. Get the bags boys. It's time to make an afterhours withdrawal..."

Jester watched the Joker lead Harley and his gang to the bank doors and attach some sort of white play do to the door. Then he put a wind up doll in the middle of it, pulled the string and comically scrambled for cover behind Harley. The doors blew open and in they all went. Joker had his arm linked with Harley as they casually entered the building.

Jester brought her knees to her chest on the back seat of that car and held them tightly. They'd been in there for at least 5 minutes now. Surely they wouldn't be too much longer, right? She froze and squeaked when the door was suddenly torn off the car right by her. She opened her mouth to scream, thinking the Joker had come back, when she saw it was _definitely_ not the clown prince of crime.

"Get out of the car." He barked at her, what looked to be a white fighting staff in his hands.

"I-I can't! He'll kill me!" at that the murderous intent from the man seemed to be replaced by confusion. "A-Are you Batman?"

"No...I'm Red Robin. Mam...you look like one of Joker's goons. We know he's in the bank. We have him surrounded so you better surrender now." Jaclyn looked him over. He looked like Batman with that mask and long black cape. His boots and skin sight leggings looked just like Batman's. But his chest and arms were red. He wore a thick black belt around his middle with golden stripes in it and a round golden buckle. There were another set of belts making an X over his chest, with the same design but the emblem of a bird in the middle of the buckle. Black gloved hands reached for her and that made her scream.

"He told me to stay in the car. He said he'd make mince meat of me and play whack-a-mole with me if I get out of the car. And my friend, he'll hurt Pam!"

"Wow wow wow! Calm down." He held his hands open to calm her, having sheathed the staff on his back. He then pressed his ear piece and looked to one side. "Batman I have a potential hostage situation going on here, please advise...she is a hostage but there is also a friend being held somewhere else...take her? Right. Mam." He reached for her with both hands. "Listen to me. We are the good guys. I'm going to get you out of here and then we're going to find your friend ok? Just come over here to me."

"You, you don't understand. I've seen what the Joker can do. I'm not crossing him. I can't." Jac clawed at the car seat to get away from her would be rescuer. "He'll get mad! I just can't!"

"Listen, we kick his ass all the time. Don't worry about it." Red Robin grabbed her boot ankles and dragged her towards him. "Come on, out you come!"

"NO! LET ME GO! LET GO RIGHT NOW!" Jaclyn dug her nails into the car seat in front of her, clinging on for dear life. "LET ME GO! I HAVE TO STAY IN THE CAR! LET GO!"


	7. Chapter 7

"_NO! LET ME GO! LET GO RIGHT NOW!" Jaclyn dug her nails into the car seat in front of her, clinging on for dear life. "LET ME GO! I HAVE TO STAY IN THE CAR! LET GO!"_

Joker felt a cold pang in his chest as he heard that. Harley jerked stiff and looked to the boss for instructions. "GET OFF ME! RED ROBBIN IS TRYING TO STEAL ME!" that was all it took. Joker turned on his heels and walked out of the Bank. Harley foresaw bloody violence and pulled poised a large red mallet on her shoulder with both hands at the bottom of the handle. That way, she could swing it at any moment. Joker started running towards the car, leaving his men to gather the loot and deal with the sudden ambush of Batman and Nightwing in the bank.

Joker and Harley were already in the Alleyway when the raid happened and they jerked to a stop at the scene they found.

"Will you stop that?! I'm trying to help you!"

"I don't need help! Leave me alone!"

"Ahem. Pardon me." The Joker coughed into his fist, drawing the attention of the two teens before him.

Jester had her hands fisted into the leather of the car seat she was trying to remain attached to. Red Robin had managed to pull her lower body out so her heels were digging into the road to stop her abductor from succeeding. _He _had grabbed onto either side of her hips and was trying to rag her out of the car. He'd gotten half her of out. half to go and he'd knock her out or something. What he didn't count on was being ambushed by the Joker and Harley. "But you're manhandling my property." Joker appeared to be bored with his hands in his pockets. "What is it with people touching my things Harley?"

"No idea Mr J. Shall I teach him a lesson for you?"

"Nah Doll face. I got it." Joker sighed and took a few steps towards them. Red Robin made a last ditch attempt to yank her from the car and managed it. Jester found her body flying through the air and was quickly pulled against the hard body of the masked hero. "Hay bird brain. Don't touch my shit." He then fluidly whipped his hand from his trouser pocket and fired a pistol at his head. RR pulled them both against the wall and narrowly missed the bullet. "Jester! I gave you ONE instruction. Stay in the car. Why is it that you couldn't do as you were told?"

"It's not my fault!" Jester's adrenaline was tearing through her veins. He was going to kill her. Or Isley. Or both. He'd find her and kill her for this. To the Joker it doesn't matter if it's her fault or not. "Get OFF me!" Red Robin had taken a hand off her to pull out his grappling gun, only to find himself smashed backwards against the wall. In the shock of it the girl managed to slip from his grip. She ran right up to the Joker just in time to get the back of his hand to her face. The young girl screamed and fell to the floor holding her face. She sobbed and looked up at her captor with fear.

"Get. In. The. Car."

"Y-yes sir!" Her lips trembled as she scrambled back to the back seat of the car. As she did Red Robin reached for her ankles again, only to have to make a quick retreat as bullets rained down on him. Batman and Nightwing also appeared on the scene just as the clown duo jumped into the car and pulled out of the alley way.

"Run the Bat over!" Joker cackled. For a split second the dark knight was stood in the headlights and for a gleeful moment it looked like Harley would actually run him over.

Then he jumped out of the way. "DAMN it." He folded his arms and pouted. "I wanted Bat-road kill."

"Sorry Mr J. Next time I'll get him!"

"Right. And you!" Joker turned round in his seat to point at the newest addition to his crime family, when he saw her.

She was trembling and holding on to her seatbelt for dear life. The car door had been ripped off her side and she felt like every time Harley turned a corner she might fall out. And that wasn't even the worst of her problems. "...you crying?"

"Y-y-yes s-sir." Her head hung forward and she screwed her eyes closed, trying to stop her tears.

"What for?" Joker poked her shoulder to get her attention but she didn't look up. "Hay, why you crying? That buzzard didn't hurt you did he? If your injured you need to tell me so we can swing past the personal quack."

"You _hit_ me."

Silence.

She didn't dare look at him. She didn't dare let go of the seat belt. She didn't dare do _anything_ that might offend him. "I'm sorry for being dragged out of the car. I won't let it happen again." She then tended her body, waiting for him to beat her again.

Instead he turned to look out the other window and ignored everyone. Harley tried to spark up conversation with them about 'that stupid bats for brains', but he didn't bite.

As they pulled into the warehouse Joker let himself out quickly and left the two girls alone. He started snarling at his men, trying to find out if any of them had gotten way with any loot. Harley tentatively took her hand and let her to her room.

"Listen pumpkin, Mr J is gonna hit you." She cooed, helping the younger woman out of her costume. "He just will. But it's gonna be your fault whether you like it or not, and it's better to just go with it. That way, you won't actively piss him off and get yourself beaten black and blue. If you're good it might be the odd back hand here or there."

"My mom would be so pissed with me." Jaclyn pulled on a set of blue pj's with a cartoon dolphin on the chest. "She left this life to keep me away from people who would hurt me."

"People like the Joker?" Harley handed her some face wipes and let her clean her face. "You know, my sugar isn't very good at maths. But your Maa left at 22. She'd be how old now?"

"38."

"So subtracting 16 years and 9 months puts your Maa at barely 22 years old and _here_." Harley tucked her hair behind her ears and looked her hard in the face. "With the Joker."

"You can't tell-"

"So you already knew?" Harley raised a brow at her desperate expression. "So I'm right then? You're Mr J's kid?"

"Shhhh!" Jester looked to the door, relieved to see there _wasn't _the silhouette of the Joker looking at her. "If he finds out he'll kill me!"

"But if you're his kid...why didn't Jester tell him?" Harley pulled her own jester hat off and let her long golden locks fall down her back. "Unless...she thought he'd hurt you..."

"Please don't tell him. I thought I could become strong enough to meet him one day but you kinda ambushed me on night 1 so I'm just an amateur. Please don't tell him." Jac grabbed her shoulders and begged her for her life.

"If I don't tell him...you'll have to do as I say." Harley pulled the frantic girl's hands from her arms and held them on her lap. "I can't take care of you pumpkin if you keep upsetting Mr J. And when he's mad, we _all_ get the stick, understood?"

"I'll do whatever you say I swear!" Harleen Quinzel emerged from the fucked up shell of the Harlequin and a maternal smile graced her painted features.

"I always said if I met your Maa again I'd slit her throat to keep my place as Mr J's only babe. But as she's dead, I don't mind taking you under my wing puddin'. I always wanted a mini me, and after all this time it seems I'm not destined to have a sprog of my own." Her blue eyes were sad as she smiled down at the girl. "I'll take care of you pumpkin."

"...you won't tell him...?"

"I won't." She kissed her cheek and rose to her feet. "But he's going to find out. He always does." With that last remark and a giggle from her manic lips the taller blonde bombshell left her to her musings.

Well, Harley knew that the Joker was her father.

She wouldn't tell him but apparently he was going to find out eventually.

She decided her best option was to survive and stay out arm's reach of him. She'd also made an ally in Harley Quinn. There must be something about her face that pushes Gotham's villainess's broody button or something! _Well I'm certainly not going to be ungrateful for it._

That night the Joker slipped into her room and watched her sleep. She'd moved her tiny bed to the far corner and slept with her back against the wall. He smiled fondly as he saw she was clutching a shotgun like a teddy bear. He slowly closed the door and made his way back to his room. He found Harley in her usual position, laid across the bed in a sexy pose whilst naked. He allowed himself to indulge in her body, numbing his mind for a while.

Once they were done however he found himself staring at the ceiling, still sighing.

"You ok Mr J?"

"Go to sleep."

"Yes Mr J. My clown prince of crime." She whispered sleepily as she snuggled to his chest. Joker looked at her as she slipped into sleep and found himself doing something he hadn't done for over 10 years.

He saw a different woman next to him.

She was blonde, yes. She was very attractive and very much in love with him, true. But she was _not_ Harley Quinn. She was the Jester. A smile spread across his face as he held her back and closed his eyes. He remembered the first time he took that woman to his bed. Originally he'd taken Harley to be a replacement for her, but no one could replace his Jester. Harley was nothing like her. Nothing at all. She was fucking insane!

_The first night they met._

"...uuu...ggg...mm tt.."

"You better not puke on me toots. I've been nice enough to take you back to my abode, without you painting it with your stomach juices." A much younger Joker was straddling a young woman and furiously stitching up a knife wound between her breasts. She wasn't supposed to be coming round yet damn it!

This girl in her tatty jeans and dirty green hoodie had held a gun to his chest and demanded he handed over his valuables. She'd tried to mug _him_, the _Joker_?! That was just funny! So he laughed and stabbed her in the chest. The shocked expression in her face was very amusing as she fell to the floor, gurgling blood in her mouth. He had started to walk away from her when he realised he was still chuckling. This girl had made him laugh. Well, he couldn't punish her for that, surely? So he went back to her and pulled out the knife.

He'd called an ambulance and waited as the paramedics checked her vitals and tended to her wound. He'd managed to miss anything major. He'd only used a small Swiss knife so it wasn't a deep wound. As the paramedics finished deducing this and started to stitch her up for further inspection at the hospital, the Joker skipped up behind them and inserted long letter openers into each of their ears. They dropped dead, making him howl with laughter. He loved it when they just fell over like dolls. Not even making a sound as they kicked the bucket.

The clown king looked at the girl and then the ambulance. He made quick work of shoving her inside and using the sirens to blare through town unhindered. As he got to his hide out, an abandoned warehouse in the rougher part of Falcone territory, he yelled for his boys to come out. They (all of 3 guys) helped him carry her out and pilfer anything of value from the ambulance. After that, he poured vodka over his hands and her chest. To make his work easier he ripped her hoodie and vest open. His knife had destroyed the middle section of her bra, so that wasn't an issue. He then used the supplies from the ambulance to finish stitching her wound up. Some of the stitches had torn from manhandling.

But now this girl was coming round, with the Joker sat on her with a bottle of vodka in one hand and the ends of her stitches in the other hand.

"...y-you!"

"Hold still!" He snarled at her, tying her stitches up and pouring more vodka on her chest. "Such a waste of good liquor. You'll buy me more, of course. Name?"

"...Jane..."

"Well Jane." Joker took a deep swig of the bottle, loving how the vodka burned the back of his mouth. "I'm the Joker. I pretty much killed you. You would be dead in that dingy alleyway had I not saved your life." He watched as confused blue eyes blinked up at him. She was clearly in pain as her body shook with it. "Here. Drink this." One hand took a fist full of her hair and lifted her head up. The other shoved the bottle into her mouth until she nearly gagged on the burning alcohol. "I'll see if there are any good drugs in the ambulance I stole." He then pulled the bottle back and downed the rest of it himself. "Jane, you should be dead. You're only alive 'coz you amused me and I happen to like your rack. So you belong to me now. Agreed?"

"...I don't seem to be having much of a choice now, ay boss man?"

"OOoooooh it has spunk! And a sexy southern girl accent. I can work with that." Joker hopped off her and put the empty bottle next to her bed. "Use that to smash any of my goons if they try to rape you, K? I'm off to steal some supplies. Leave and I'll hunt you down and cut you from mouth to cunt. Understood?"

"...yes boss..."

"Good. Sweet dreams!" He cackled and skipped out of the room. He raved his favourite diving knife at his little band of merry men. "That bitch in there is my new play thing. Don't touch my shit. Capiche?"

"Yes boss!"

"Right, off to the gunshop on Main and 6th. Daddy want's a new shotgun." Joker grabbed his deck of Joker cards and led his men on a heist.

Later that night he came back to find she had done as she was told and stayed in her bed. She was also unconscious. The Joker dragged his tiny bed into that room and watched her for a while before he went to sleep, grinning from ear to ear. Perhaps she would be fun after all. He'd always wanted a pet that lasted more than a few well aimed kicks to the side. She'd do.

Over the next few weeks she heal up and he watched her. She picked up a baseball bat the first day she was able to stand up and knocked one of the guys out. She then stole his baggy T shirt and put it on. That was apparently all she wanted. He nodded his approval and continued to move monopoly pieces on his map.

She didn't talk to him. The woman just leaned against a wall and watched him. one day it became too much.

"What?! What the _fuck_ are you looking at!"

"You're pretty cute." Jane answered in a monotone and cocked her head to one side. "No missus?"

"...no...no time for that!" Joker felt a chill down his spine, so he turned back to his map of Gotham. He had stabbed tooth picks into all the areas he had hit or owned. There were only 5 picks on the entire map...

"I can see that." He jumped when she was suddenly next to him. "You moving on the Falcone's land?"

"Yea, I got business with those clowns. It involves a lot of explosives and blood. My favourite cocktail." Jane snapped her hands to her mouth and desperately fought the urge to laugh. The Joker however beamed at her and pointed at her face. "If it's funny doll face, you should always laugh!" He snorted with glee when she did release a soft giggle from her rosy lips. Without the hoodie on he could see she had long blonde hair, bright blue eyes and the cutest spray of freckles across her nose and cheeks. When she laughed her face seemed to come alive with it. he found himself staring at her, butterflies committing a mass round of syncretised dancing in his stomach.

"I like the thought of that. Being free to laugh whenever you want. I've been so miserable for so long."

"Why?" Joker leaned back in his chair and regarded her. He'd kept her with the intent of messing with her, but she was such an enigma to him. She hadn't tried to beg for her life. She didn't seem to be afraid of him. And she was obedient and domesticated! She'd started cooking and cleaning for him soon after she was able to be up and about. Result!

Jane looked down and shrugged.

"My story has just been shitty so far I guess."

"Don't wanna tell me?"

"Its shitty." Jane sat on the edge of his desk near him and looked into his chaotic green eyes. Joker regarded the woman and nodded at her. "Long story short my parents didn't want me so I was given up as a small kid. I ended up in a foster home and my foster dad rapped me every few nights. Got pregnant, he dragged me to a clinic and called me a slut to the nurse as she aborted my baby. I stole the gun from his office draw and took it to bed with me every night until he came a knocking. Then I shot him. I ran to the streets after that as I didn't fancy prison."

"Wow toots." Joker started to snicker at her, pointing at her face. "You weren't kidding about life being shitty so far. Life _is_ a cruel joke." He jumped up from his seat and struck a comical pose. His hands held the suspenders of his purple suit and he bent his upper body to one side. "Therefore, you might as well say to hell with it, and just have fun!"

"...is that really possible?" her eyes held her pain and she looked to him with great sadness. She seemed to be captivated by the mad man as he danced around the floor.

"Sure it is doll face! Come on, I'll show you _exactly _how much fun life can _really_ be." He reached into his desk draw and pulled out a chain of Joker grenades. He looked from them, to his new pet and released a manic cackle. "It's a BLAST!"

_A month later. _

"You sure I look ok in this? I know you want me to have a costume Mr J, but isn't this a little too..."

"Sexy?"

"No."

"Alluring?"

"No."

"Distracting?"

"Impractical." Jane turned in her high heels and looked at her terrible influence. The Joker had been pestering her for weeks to get a real costume and hit the streets with him. They'd held up a couple of corner shops and bookies, but now he wanted to take her to the big leagues. That apparently, required the proper attire.

"Naa puddin'. I designed that myself!" Jane rolled her eyes at him as she stood in the costume. "Don't you like it?" Her resolve melted when he put his hands on his chest, widened his eyes and stuck his bottom lip out.

"I think it's a bit edgy, but it's fine. Don't pout sugar. It makes me wanna pinch your cheeks!" Jane giggled, only to be pushed hard against the cubicle wall and hushed by the Joker.

They were in a department store changing room cubicle. They'd had to come here to complete the costume, and they were going to hold the place up for the customer's wallets on the way out. but for now, they had to keep quiet. "Sorry Mr J. Oh shit."

"What?" Joker ran a hand back through his messy greed curtains and raised a brow at her. "I thought you said you liked it?"

"I do. I just...I might have left my gun at home." Joker bent forwards comically, sweat dropping at her. "I'm sorry Mr J." He erected himself and opened his purple suit jacket. Littered on the inside were an array of knives, daggers and a couple of small pistols.

"Take your pick. Just don't leave home without your toys. It's no fun if you have no toys to play with." He hushed and looked to the cubicle door, trying to listen for anyone nearby. No one so far.

"Ok...then I want..." Joker snapped his head back when he was gently pushed against the wall. Her leather covered hands slid from his chest to his belt. She then slid her hands into his deep leg pockets. This action forced her to press her body against his, and her face became a breath away from his. Joker had frozen stiff as her hands rummaged in his pockets, _dangerously_ close to his crotch. He took a deep gulp and chuckled nervously.

Now women he could deal with. They bled just as easily as any man. But this was a situation he'd never been in before. Now he thought about it...she'd been a little flirty with him recently. Her jerked as the tips of her fingers brushed against his bulging cock through the fabric. "A ha! I found it."

"You sure have."

"I love this knife." Jester stepped back and held a long diver's knife for his inspection. "Can I use this one?" Joker cleared his throat and closed his jacket hurriedly.

"Sure. But I like that one so give it back afterwards."

"Sure. Thank you Mr J." Joker felt himself getting hot under the collar. The way she said Mr J with that southern twang sent pleasurable shivers through his body. "Shall we?"

"Yes, let's go Jester."

"After you Joker." She pushed the door open and let him slip out first.

"ALRIGHT MOTHERFUCKERS THIS IS A STICK UP!" Joker fired a few warning shots at the ceiling and caused everyone to drop to the floor.

"Listen nice an easy." Jester stood by his side. "I have a sack. You have wallets. I'm going to leave with a sack full of wallets. Understood?"

"Good one puddin'."

"Thank you Mr J." She giggled and walked her sexy little self over to each shivering hostage and frisked them for all their valuables. Joker made fast work of rigging some of his Joker bombs to the walls and set the timer. Every few bombs he caught his eyes drifting to one side. Funnily enough, this happened whenever Jester happened to be bending over to pick up some jewellery...

"We got ten minutes toots! Time to amscray!" Joker turned to see his accomplice was swaying in time to the music. There was a beautiful smile tugging at those black lips. That black and yellow jester's outfit he made her was perfect. She looked distracting enough that men would be drooling at her whilst he knifed them in the back. Then again...he was starting to appreciate the way her breasts were pushed together and the angle her butt curved at because of those high heeled boots. "Oi!" Joker barked at her and grabbed her wrist. "Joker bombs set. Timer set. Need to leave. Now!"

"Oh, sorry, I was having fun." She apologised and that smile fell from her lips.

"You wanna dance Jester? I'll take you dancing later, k?" Joker put his hand on her shoulder and pointed at his large toothy grin. "Joker's honour."

"Ha! I wouldn't trust _your_ honour as far as I could throw you!" She snickered into her free hand as Joker dragged her out of the store with the other. As they jumped into the getaway car Joker rubbed his hands together with glee.

"Wait for it...wait for it...BOOM!" purple Joker gas seeped through the open windows with the sound of the explosion. "HA! They'll be laughing through the other side of their faces now!" Joker put the pedal to the metal and sped down the streets before the cops turned up.

"We got loads of cash Joker. OOooo...I almost forgot about this." Jester lifted a pearl necklace from the sack and her eyes bugged out at it. "This looks so expensive!"

"We got a good score newbie?"

"I think so. Was I good?"

"Doll face, you were _so_ _bad_." Joker howled with laugher, almost hitting the wall as he parked outside the warehouse. "Just the way I likes'um."

"Oh? Are you saying I'm your type?" The Clown prince turned to look curiously at his new sidekick. She had a soft hue of a blush on her cheeks and a...hopeful sparkle to her eyes. "Sorry Mr J. I was being daft again."

"Whatever." He grabbed the sack from her and walked straight towards his main desk. He emptied the contents onto his desk and saw the pearl necklace. It was simple, but very beautiful. _Kind of like..._ Joker shook his head and looked to find Jester in the kitchen area. She was boiling the kettle and making him coffee. Black and with 5 sugars. As she was stirring the practically toxic liquid she smiled over her shoulder at him, feeling his approach before he reached her. "You can have this." Joker put the necklace around her neck and reluctantly took his hands off her.

"Are you sure? That's really kind of you Joker." Her lips curved into a serene smile. "No one has ever given me a gift before. Especially anything so pretty." She stroked her necklace with one hand and offered him the coffee with the other. He gulped again and deftly took the mug without breaking eye contact with her.

"I felt like it."

"And I'm grateful thank you." She was blushing again and looking coyly off to one side. "I haven't got you a gift. You've given me a present and I haven't got you one. Is there..." She slowly lifted her head to look at him through those long yellow lashes. "...anything I can do to make it up to you?"

"I'll let you know. Now I want pizza tonight. Go get me some pizza. But that's a command, not a return-gift-thing!" Joker snapped and stormed off to his office. He locked the door behind him and sat on the floor.

Sex.

Immediately, completely and unanimously his mind had said sex. Rough, merciless, violent sex. Sex that involved screaming, pain and his ultimate gratification.

That's how she could repay him. She could fuck him. That would be nice.

Joker shook his head and pulled a knife from his jacket. "No. No time for that sort of thing. That would be getting distracted from my pursuit of perfect chaos." He threw the knife at the darts board opposite him and hit a bull's-eye.

He tried to fill his head with his next twisted plot that he could now fund from today's heist...but all he thought of was those legs and that ass. He found his fingers itching to grab that ass as it walked past. He wanted to smell that hair as she stood in front of him.

Oh, and he also wanted to fuck her. "Damn it! Not funny!"


	8. Chapter 8

_**This chapter continues straight from the last one. The Joker, remembering the original Jester.**_

_The following night._

They were hiding low from the last job. Joker was waiting for a price on a piece of kit he needed to make a large Joker cake bomb, and all of his crew had been arrested. All of course, except for his right hand man-woman-sidekick.

_Don't look at her like a woman. That will help. She's an object. It is an object._ Joker nodded and turned to look at his objectified sidekick.

Jane was stood there in nothing but a baggy pink T shirt. She'd just gotten out of the shower and her shirt was hanging off one shoulder to reveal a milky shoulder. She was towel drying her hair and looking in the fridge for a snack. Joker found himself sliding inch by inch off to one side on his chair comically, trying to see up her shirt. It fell just below her rounded bubble butt, and he couldn't tell if she was wearing any underwear.

"I'm commando, just so you know." Joker snapped back to his original seated position and flashed his startled green orbs up at her. He found her peering over the side of the fridge door at him with a cheeky smile on her face. "Just got out of the shower and all."

"Aint-cha cold under there toots?" Joker raised brow at her, refusing to be caught perving.

"Nope. Back down south I'd walk around my house naked in the most truest sense. That's how I sleep too."

Joker's pants were suddenly too tight. Far far too tight. He resisted the urge to grab himself there.

"And _why_ did I need to know that?"

"Did I say you _needed_ to know that?" She countered, vexing him into jumping up and pointing at her.

"You should be more careful doll face." Joker stalked towards her, his lips peeled back over his teeth angrily. "I'm not a nice man, remember?"

"I know that dumplin'. That's part of your charm after all." Joker didn't stop until he'd backed her up against the kitchen counter. His body was ridged and only an inch away from hers.

"I'm going to let that slide. Go to your room and behave yourself."

"Yes Mr J." After a mental standoff Joker was content he'd won and side stepped, letting her walk to her room as instructed. He watched her open the door and step inside. She then pulled the shirt over her head and exposed her long legs, her curvy backside and elegant back to him, before closing the door.

Joker's eyes twitched, and the milk carton he'd picked up burst in his hand. All he could think of was how that woman was _asking_ for a damn good seeing to!

And at that point, he'd finally run out of enough reasons not to, to hold himself back. _That woman_ had been taunting him for weeks and now he'd had enough. He wasn't the most patient of men and it had been a long time since he'd held a girl down and fucked her. Well now she was going to get it. The Lord of crazy grabbed his bulging crotch with one hand as he walked right up to her room and kicked the door in. He found her stood by the dressing table and brushing her long golden hair at such an angle, he could see her outline from the back but not her gawd damn goodies. That _also_ pissed him off.

"That's it princess. Your ass is _mine_." Joker stalked forward, shrugging off his purple jacket by the door and pulling out a knife from his trousers. He imbedded in into the dressing table, looking down at her from behind with his trademark bat-shit-mental grin. _This is going to be fun_. He raised a hand to grab a fistful of her hair, only for her to move away from him. this he expected. Every woman he cornered with sexual intent always tried to run at first. Then they'd scream, cry and apologise whilst he was trying to get his end away, pissing him off further. In anticipation of this _incredibly _annoying behaviour, he pulled the knife from the dresser and stalked after her.

"I'm so glad you want me too Mr J." He froze in his tracks. "I know I'm not the prettiest of gals, but I've been trying so hard to look nice for you sweetheart." She pulled the blanket off the bed and lowered to her rump. The blonde Jester had her lips parted, her hands palm down on the bed to support her form, the angle pushing her breasts into prime mauling position. Joker gulped, the knife almost slipping from his fingers. Just as he thought he'd tethered in his train of thought, she made it crash into the side of his skull, rendering him speechless.

She leaned back on her hands and parted those long silky legs. Joker's eyes zeroed in on her golden tresses like a shot, and the knife dropped to the floor with a forgotten clang. "Is...is this ok? Am I ok...like this?"

"...you..._want_ me...?" his voice had wavered so much he doubted the words actually came from _his_ throat. "Because I'm going to fucking hurt you princess. You _are_ going to bleed." Jester cocked her head at him and held a very puzzled look on her delicate face. After a few moments of uneasy mutual staring, waiting for someone to move, Jester did. She pushed herself up from the bed and slowly walked up to her unsure madman.

"I've been raped before Joker." She whispered and slowly placed her trembling hands on his chest. "Many times. I've never...had a _choice_ before. I've never been allowed the luxury of actually _desiring_ anyone before." The heat of her hands through his green vest seeped into his chest, making his heart start to hammer against his chest. His eyes however were like green frozen daggers, piercing into her baby blues, just waiting for her to show any weakness. Then he would attack her. she didn't falter under his gaze. She took that last step so he vulnerable naked body pressed against him. "Joker, I have _never_ wanted anyone before. But you...you make me feel like a woman. You make me feel like I'm worth something. The life I have now I owe to you. You gave me happiness Joker. You make me so happy." His eyes were wide by this point, his red lips parted in a shocked way that made it look like he would either A, scream at her, or B, frown at any moment. "I love you Joker."

"No."

He pushed her off him so hard she fell to the floor with a huff. Joker started pointing at her from his vantage point, hissing as he spoke. "You think this is _funny?_ You think this is going to put me off?! HA!" He started wrestling with his vest buttons, popping every other one off in his haste. "You _love_ me?! Yeah, we'll see if you're still saying that once I've finished with you!" He dropped his flaming gaze for a moment to pull at his belt buckle, only to freeze again. Timid hands were at his waste, pulling his belt apart and attacking his trousers. "...what...what are you-"

"Enough Mr J." Enough." Before he could make the decision to beat her senseless his trousers and pants were around his ankles, she'd leaped to her feet, and her soft rosy lips were pressed against his crimson ones.

His left eye twitched and he stared at her, questioning her sanity at this moment, when her hands and lips started to pick up the pace. Jester sucked one of his lips into her mouth and nibbled at it, proving to be just enough of a distraction to allow her hands to slip gingerly down his front and grab him 'there'. Joker jerked at the sudden contact, enough of a reaction for her to capitalise and slip her tongue into his mouth. He started to resist, his gloved hands coming up to grab her shoulders when her taste filled his mouth. She tasted like cherries...like the flavoured lollies she was suck as a treat after every heist.

Joker groaned against his will, her supple fingers stoking his length with wicked pace. His body started to tremble from the onslaught and his mind finally shut off. He kicked off his shoes and the trousers and pants around his ankles, and walked her towards the bed. As the back of her knees connected with it she pulled her lips away from his, released his member and returned to her 'primed' position on the bed.

Arched back on her hands, legs apart and bed eyes locked. "Could you please have me now Mr J?" He stared at her body, his 'senses' having returned to him absent her lips and masterful hands. "Please?"

"...you _do_ realise _who_ you're begging to fuck you, right?"

"Of course." She beamed at him with the brightest, most gentle smile he'd ever seen in his life. "The man I love, kinks and all." She lifted one hand from the bed and slid it up his front, smooth and fluid like from his navel to his face. "If...if I'm not pretty enough I understand. You could pretend I'm someone else, if you'd like."

"Shut the fuck up." Alarm bells were going off in his head. This bitch was serious. She _actually_ loved him. Him! she had to be a nutball.

Then again, that _would_ make them a good pair... "You going to swear to do as I say? Forever? And if you ever run off I'll cut you open from-"

"-mouth to cunt? Yes I know." She pushed herself to sit up fully and put both hands at the bottom of his neck, just above his ivory pecks. "I'm yours."

"Fine. Don't argue with that I want then." Feeling like he was sufficiently back in control again he peeled his lips back into his famous grin. "Don't have any lube. As you can see, it's gonna _hurt _without lube." He grabbed his cock to prove his 'point' and stroked himself a few times. "It _would_ be a shame to break you after just one go...you just showered right?"

"Yes, why-fuck!" Jane howled in pleasure. The Joker dropped casually to a squatting position between her legs and dragged his tongue over her entrance heavily. He then swirled her clit with the end of his reptilian tongue, before sliding it back down to her entrance. She started squirming uncontrollably so he smacked one of her legs and looked up at her.

"Hold the fuck still!"

"Y-yes Joker." He rolled his eyes at her, like you would a child having done something naughty. He then darted his eyes back to the prize and lowered his lips back to her nub. He giggled against her when she started clawing at the bed with all her might to stay still. He sucked on her clit between his lips and slid a finger inside her.

_Fuck she's tight. I'm not going to fit in here without tarring her open. Better stretch the bitch...pain in the ass already..._ "OOOOooooooh!" Her body arched against the bed as he slid two fingers inside her and began a vigorous rhythm. He crooked his fingers, twisted them, scissored them ever so slightly in an attempt to widen her.

That was of course until he was bored of this, and so hard it hurt. He grunted as he jumped to his feet, grabbed a fistful of her hair and forced her onto her front on the bed. As soon as he let go she obediently got onto her hands and knees and prostrated herself before him, legs as wide as possible. Joker cocked his head at her and regarded her for a moment. He's never wasted time 'preparing' a woman before. So sex should feel different than usual with the mixture of his saliva and her juices making her wet and ready. He also had to tie them down at this point, or beat them so badly they couldn't fight back or pull away. But she just... donned the position.

Fuck it. she's insane, he's insane, he's hard, she's on all fours before him. might as well take advantage of the situation. He giggled with glee, holding his dick in one hand and her hip in the other. He knelt on the bed right behind her and wasted no time.

"Still love me toots?" He cackled, shoving his full length into her inch by inch, not giving her any chance to adjust to his girth. He giggled with mirth as he finally forced himself all the way in to full hilt.

"O o oooh yes. Fuck you're so BIG Mr J."

"Doesn't it hurt?" he giggled, expecting the answer to be a resounding ear splitting yes.

"I feel all filled up. Filled up with Joker cock." He blushed at that. She was dirty! He hadn't expected that! "Never take it out Mr J. Promise you won't!" She whimpered as he flexed inside her experimentally, loving how she shuddered all over and fisted the bed sheet from such a small movement.

He was right though, this was different. She was so hot and slick inside. She was still tight, but the wetness was amazing. And she didn't try to pull away from him or cry, so he could just concentrate on having a good old time. Grinning from ear to ear he dramatically took hold of her hips at either side and cackled.

"You're fucking into the bed with commence in 5, 4, 3, 2- WWWwww-O-bad girl! Jumping the gun like that!" Jester had put her hands against the wall the bed was pressed up against and pushed her hips back into him. he smacked her ass with one hand, hard enough to leave a red hand mark, before returning it to her hip. "Bad girls don't get nooky!"

"NNOooo! I'm sorry. Please don't take it out. Oooo Mr J." Jester turned her head to look at him over her shoulder. Her hair was dishevelled, her pupils were huge and her lips were curved into a sexy grin, with just a hint of crazy in her eyes. "I've never felt pleasure like this before. I'm getting very addicted and we haven't even gotten going yet. Please fuck me. I'll be a good girl." She pressed her hips back against him, making him jerk with pleasure and dig his fingers into skin, making fingerprint sized welts in her peachy flesh.

"Good girls don't make demands. They get what they deserve." Joker pulled half way out and slammed into her hard, making her scream. She hadn't been ready and lost her balance, falling face first into the mattress. She quickly pushed up one the bed with one hand, the other hand bracing itself against the wall. Jane looked over her shoulder at him with eyes daring him to do that again.

So he did.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooo!" Joker pistoned in and out of her in this fashion with a zealous that could only be his brand of insane lust. He was cackling as he slammed into her. She was writhing in pleasure beneath him, begging for more, for him to go harder.

"Are you _insane?"_

"Only for you! Oh please Joker! It feels so good!" Joker shook his head at the crazy bitch, grabbed her by the back of the head and pushed her front down into the bed. He then craned his body over hers and pushed against the wall for leverage. One hand still gripped her hip, drawing blood with his nails he held her so hard. "YES!" The Joker rammed that tiny woman's body into the bed and wall with all his strength. She was finally screaming, but for more! One of her hands flew backwards and grabbed onto his leg, trying to pull him further inside her, harder against her.

"Fuck!" He hissed, rocketing in and out of her with a hell hath no fury pace, panting and sweating almost as much as she was. He raised a brow when her hands came into view and he felt her moving. Jane clawed up the wall until her front was pressed up against it, Joker's front pressed against hers and their bodies coiled together. Joker was on his knees, and she was crouched above him, thrusting back against him, clearly on a mission to be a sore as possible in the morning. "Come here." He put one hand on her shoulder, and the other on the wall, and simultaneously pulled her body down, and thrust his pelvis up.

"YES! Ooooooo-h yes!" he snaked his hand would her middle and up her chest to grab one of her breasts and squeeze it. One of her hands flew down and held his hand there. "OOOooo yes-yes-I think I- I think I'm-ooh!" Her body arched against him, her head going back against his shoulder and exposing her neck to his nipping teeth. He gave her a delightful hickey just in time to feel 'it' happen.

Her body trembled in his arms, echoing primal desire and vibrating all the way to his cock. Her inner walls seemed to spasm around him, getting impossibly tighter and hotter for a moment. But that was all that was needed to milk him dry. Joker, the clown prince of crime, whimpered into her shoulder and bit her hard; feeling like his dick might have _actually_ exploded inside her from the hot wet pressure and electrifying pleasure shooting up his spine from his belly.

They panted through their epic orgasms, a new treat for both the crime lord and the woman who loved him. The Joker pressed his forehead into her neck, getting his breath back, before pulling away completely.

"I admit it. That was some crazy sex right there." He rubbed his aching knees as he hopped off the bed and started to collect his clothes. "Really brought a smile to my face!" he giggled and turned to look at her. he expected the usual after image of a bundle of crying and bleeding mess, only to find Jane Ester hobbling off the bed after him. She fell over once, her legs having given way under her half way between the bed and the man that just fucked her. "Got something to say toots?" Jane looked up from her knelt position on the floor with a bright smile on her face. Tears slugged down her face, but her smile couldn't be happier.

"Thank you." She sniffled, deciding that it wasn't worth trying to get up yet.

"...you _are_ in pain, right?" Joker finished buckling his belt at this point, and folded his arms over his bare chest.

"Oh yes. Definitely. But at least I know what that was _meant_ to feel like."

Joker felt an incredible cold pang in his chest at that.

The only men she'd ever been with had been the ones who had raped her. mainly her foster father. She _did _say how he was the one person she _wanted_ to have sex with. "I've never even had an orgasm before. Did you...enjoy it too?" he raised a brow at that. she looked so insecure at that, holding herself around the middle, naked, on the floor on her knees.

...blood and cum slowly flowing from her abused pussy...

"Doll face." Jester dropped to a squat right in front of her and tapped her nose. "It was a hoot! Best I've ever had."

"Really?!" She smiled again at that and wiped her tears from her face with her hands. "I'm so glad."

"Hn." He made a swift escape for the door.

"You know I meant every word I said...right?" that halted him in the doorway. "I'll need a little while to recover from this...but I'd really like us to do this again. I...I sound so pathetic right?"

Joker folded his arms and looked over his shoulder at her. Jane grabbed a hold of the dresser table and managed to drag herself into her chair. Joker's eyes traced over the bite mark on her shoulder, the large purple hickey on her neck, the deep finger marks on her hips...her large bouncing breasts...the curve of her spine...her long loooooong legs...

He couldn't imagine _not_ having her again.

"You belong to me." He turned and leaned against the door frame with one shoulder. "Are you prepared for the danger that comes with being the main squeeze of a criminally insane psychopath? Coz puddin'." He Grinned from ear to ear and started to giggled with mirth. "It could be classed as a hazardous profession, with long hours, no thanks and the need for a health plan. Tomorrow you could be shot by the cops, _or_ by me! Funny right?! Talk about every day potentially being your last right?" he stopped his manic laughter when she threw herself from the dresser at him. she fell at his feet onto her side, and he heard her wince with pain. The blonde broken bombshell grabbed a hold of the door frame and pulled herself to her unsteady feet. She allowed herself to fall into the Joker's chest and wrapped her arms around his neck. His hands fell by his sides and he stared at her, confused as hell. "You _did_ just hear me, right puddin'?"

"I'd love to be your girlfriend Joker. I'm so happy." He opened his mouth to say something dismissive like 'whatever, now get off me' when he realised she was sobbing into his chest. "Thank you Joker. Thank you."

"...has your life been that shitty that being the girlfriend of an insane killer like me makes your day?"

"Pumpkin." She raised her head from his chest and captivated him with those kind blue eyes. "Nothing would make me happier than being with you forever."

For the first time and a long time the Joker felt...a genuine touched smile grace his lips. he looked into the eyes of this magnificent creature before him, and wondered if he'd finally found a women who either A got him, and or B, could love him anyway.

The scary thing was...she appeared to be capable of both...

"Well Jester." He cleared his throat and grinned at her with evil glee. "You need to get a bath and rest up!" he lifted her aching body into his arms and despite the pain it caused her, skipped to the bathroom. She giggled the whole time, despite the pain it caused her. "Because we're going to break into a pharmacy tomorrow for condoms, lube and lots and lots of toys!" he cackled, dropping her on her ass in the bathroom, ignoring the hiss she released as she connected with the floor. "OOoooo, maybe we could find a sex shop, break in and steal some handcuffs! How do you feel about feathers and things that vibrate?" finally he looked to the heap on the floor that was his new woman, and saw she was still smiling up at him.

"If it involves you, I'm happy."

"Good. Well..." he looked around the room, and when nothing to say appeared before him, he shrugged and walked out. Leaving her to tend to her wounds and deal with it.

_Back to present day. _

Joker felt tears fall silently down his cheeks as he smiled up at the ceiling. That had been the first of many passion filled nights with his Jester. And the heists! Anything that sparkled or had sharp pointy edges she wanted. She'd always give them to him, though...she'd never want to actually keep anything she stole for him. she'd jumped in front of him on many occasions. She even got shot doing that crap once! Joker remembered how he'd pulled that slug out with a pair of nose hair tweezers, stitched her up, and then proceeded to smack her upside the head with a pillow over and over again for being such an idiot.

Every time he beat her, she never complained. She always smiled at him. she never fought back...and she never ran.

The Joker slipped out of the bed, Harley having fallen asleep soon after their love making had finished. He pulled his purple and orange polkadot pjs on and silently entered this 'Jaclyn the new Jester's room. Still clutching the shotgun to her body as she slept like a safety blanket.

_Your mother never ran from me. She loved me. She was the only woman that fully understood the monster I am and loved me anyway. She was a good woman who had a shitty life. She knew I was bad. She just didn't care anyway. That was her own kind of insanity. She loved me._

He looked at the young woman, seeing a lot of her mother in her face...even the hair style was the same. _She left me because of you_. His eyes narrowed on the girl, who was in more trouble now that she had ever been in her life. Which was a lot, considering recent days...

Joker folded his arms over his chest and silently snarled. _Your mother was either taken from me against her will all these years and you're not telling, or she was raped, found out she was pregnant and chose you over me. Either way, it's your fault!_

He saw a baseball bat on the floor and seriously considered picking it up and smashing her brains out, until the walls was stained with her blood.

Then an image of her mother flashed into his mind, and he felt his shoulders sag forward.

_She was mine. How dare you take her from me! Someone will pay for this...i'll fucking make them fucking pay._

He took himself out of the room before he actually did pick up the bat and lowered into his 'throne', glowering over his map. _I'll get your daddykins first, then I'll get you. _


	9. Chapter 9

"My children. I have something to tell you."

"Mama." The young girl was fisting at her over sized black hoodie, making sure it hi her face as she sobbed. "Oh Mama."

"Oh my darling daughter." A fallen Spanish angel lay in a hospital bed, an unnatural white tint to her honey skin. Her deep brown eyes were sunken; her thick ebony hair was matted to the hospital pillows. The soft dropping sound of the morphine in the IV echoed like drums in the background, along with the beeping of heart monitors and the distant sound of doctors and nurses running around. The woman gulped; her throat dry and the action sending shooting pain through her head. She lifted a shaking hand onto her daughter's head, the patient tag with her name, Catherina Mendez, sliding down her wasting wrist. "My little Angelica."

"It's not fair Mama. You don't deserve this." Catherina slipped her weak hand under the hood and caressed her beloved child's face.

"I know child. But I am dying. Which is why I must ask you to hear something I never wanted to tell you." She watched her daughter slowly lift her head and press her cheek into her hand. Two gleaming watery amber eyes stared back at the wasting woman. "I thought one day I might have to tell you. But I wanted to wait until you were all grown up, not a child." She gulped, finding it harder and harder to talk.

"Mama, what do you mean?"

"Oh child. You are my little angel. But I need to tell you of my past. Only then will you be able to move forward however you wish. But despite how sordid this tale becomes, listen to me. You must listen to me." She took as deep a breath as her aching lungs would allow. "Only at the end will you understand who you two really are, and why I've kept this from you. Before we moved to Metropolis, before you were born, I lived in Gotham..."

**Author's note-**

**I have published a back story for Catherina Mendez, at this point you may choose to go and read that, then return to this, or dip in and out if something doesn't make sense...or you just want to ^.^ it has the same warnings as this story, M for sex and violence. Now on with the story!**

"Now who the hell is that?" Brenna scuttled around the kitchen, stuffing a small pink duffle bag with various things, whilst looking for her trainers and car keys. The door bell going off was the last thing she needed right now. "Just a minute!"

It had been a few weeks since Bruce Wayne had forced his way into her kitchen, and the silhouette wasn't the right shape to be him. It was just as tall, but slimmer. _The post man?_ She narrowed her steely blue eyes on the door, brushed down her warm grey knee length dress, with short sleeves and a black strip going across her chest. Underneath it she wore black leggings and a long sleeved black t-shirt. Her grey trainers would match, and she could run around all she need to in this outfit. Her brown hair was down today, coming down to her shoulders in a cute bob. Her fringe curved above her eyebrows, and she had minimal makeup on. just mascara and lip balm. She opened the door after slipping into her trainers. She opened the door and beamed a smile at the man stood there. He wasn't the postman, but he also wasn't Bruce freaking Wayne. He was also kinda cute! Baby blue eyes, curtains of bad boy black hair, strong masculine face and a tall, trim but toned body. Oh, and an expansive suit on to boot. Perhaps the good lord had answered her prayers for dropping a good man into her lap at last...?

"Good morning. How can I help you?"

"Wow." The man chuckled and seemed stunned by her, a compliment by any other name.

"...well that isn't usually the way a conversation starts for me with men, but I'll take that." she giggled when he immediately flustered.

"Sorry, I was just taken back. You look like him, and you smile! He never smiles." He chuckled nervously, and the cogs started to turn in her head. She then took another look at his very expensive suit, and a familiar limousine in the background.

"So he's resorted to sending random strangers to my door now, has he?" she crossed her arms over her chest, in a very scarily familiar fashion, and narrowed her eyes at him. "Look, _you_ can tell _Mr Wayne_, that I called the police on him last time, and sending someone else is downright harassment, and I _will_ call the police on you _too_, so why don't you just-"

"Stop!" He put his hands up and looked to be submitting to her, which always worked with Bruce. Her glare softened slightly, so he realised that bother father and daughter ticked in similar ways. That would be useful. "Right, please let me introduce myself. I'm Richard Grayson, but you can call me Dick if you want. I mean, everyone else does." He held his hand out for her to take and gave her his best Robin-esk smile. She just raised a brown and ignored the hand.

Oooo, daughter and father _were_ alike. He almost wanted to point that out... "I'm Bruce's eldest adopted son. I've been his charge since I was a young teenager, and the same goes for my brother and Bruce's other adopted son, Tim. I came today-"

"To beg on his behalf." She snapped and grabbed the door, about to slam it in his face.

"No!" she paused. "I came because _I_ wanted to meet you." ok, that had her curiosity peaked. He released a breath and relaxed. He had her hooked, so he could go from there. "Thing is, we're a family. It's not just Bruce that desperately wants to know you. I do too. As does Tim and Alfred."

"Alfred didn't get in trouble did he?" she hushed her voice and stepped out of the door, closing it behind her. "For being nice to me?"

"No. In fact, you should have _heard_ what Alfred said to Bruce when he read that file! Alfred is practically Bruce's dad, and _man_ he was pissed." He chuckled at her slightly amused expression. "He slapped him-" she snickered. "-and threatened to leave the manner and come and serve you if he didn't read the file and apologise to you."

"So _that's_ why he's been coming back."

"No!" Dick slapped himself in the face. "No, Bruce was forgiven after the first time. He kept coming back because he _genuinely _wants to be a part of your life. As do the rest of us."

"No offence, but he's an ass." Brenna hissed, arms still folded and stance still fierce. "He's burned that bridge and I won't give him another chance."

"Why not?" Dick took a risk and put his hand on her shoulder. She looked at it, like she was willing it to burst into flames, but didn't linger her gaze there long. "He made a stupid mistake. A horrible, mortifying mistake that he's punishing himself for over and over again. But he didn't know you were his kid, or he wouldn't have done or said the things he did."

"He still said and did those things. Not a very good example is he?"

"The real Bruce Wayne is. And trust me, that's the man that is killing himself over this, and the man who desperately wants one more chance. Just one more." Dick then watched her arms drop to her sides. "He only let me come today instead of him, because we all insisted you needed time and a fresh face." She looked to be contemplating it, then shook her head.

"I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"I can't just give him another chance and see how it goes." She huffed, holding her middle and looking over his shoulder instead of his begging eyes.

"Why not?"

"It's complicated."

"How could it _possibly_ be complicated?"

"Mommy?"

The door behind her had creaked open, and a pair of big blue eyes peered up at them both. "Are we going to the park now?"

"Sweetheart, go back inside for a moment please." Brenna tensed up and stood between the girl and a very stunned Nightwing. "Go and get another teddy."

"But I have thumper."

"Go get Bambi for him to play with."

"Ok mommy." Brenna ushered her daughter back inside, watched her walk to her room, and closed the door again.

"Listen you." she rounded on the stunned vigilante. "_That's_ why it's complicated. It isn't just _me_ I've got to think about. I can't just let you all into her life, if you're no good for us. That would be too cruel for her and I won't do it."

"Oh my god." He finally looked back to Brenna and smiled. "She's beautiful. Blue eyes and brown hair, just like you."

"Yes, and-"

"How old is she?" She folded her arms over her chest and made sure she was stood firmly in front of the door.

"She is five. She is also _none_ of your or Mr Wayne's business."

"None of our business?" Dick put his hands on her shoulders tenderly and gave her a sad smile. "That's Bruce's granddaughter. And _my_ niece. And you're my sister." He then folded his arms of _his_ chest and gave her a stern look of his own. "We are family. Bruce made a mistake, one he would never, _ever _make again. I swear to you that's true."

"I can't risk it."

"Nothing worth having isn't worth the risk." Dick stunned her, grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into an embrace. "I'm not saying you have to both move into Wayne manner or anything like that. We can move as slowly as you want us to. But we want to get to know you. Both of you." at first Brenna had tried to struggle, but his grip was damn tight. There was a pang of longing in her heart.

All she'd ever wanted was to know her father, and to have a big loving family.

The door opened again, and stood holding a rabbit and a deer teddy, dressed in the cutest blue summer dress and white woolly tights, was the cutest five year old Dick had ever seen. She had big blue eyes, and two pigtails of deep brown hair. She had a fringe like her mothers, curved over her eyebrows.

"Mommy, mommy, I got bambi. Can we go now?"

"Yes Emma." She was released from the tight embrace and picked up her daughter. She then walked into the kitchen, and gestured for Dick to follow her. he did quickly, before she could object, and closed the door behind him. "But we need to wear shoes when we go outside, don't we?"

"Yes mommy!" She giggled as she was lowered to sit on the kitchen table, swinging her feet back and forth with glee. She was going to the park. She was a happy little girl.

"OK, where did I put those trainers..." Brenna pulled open a cabinet and rooted around for something. "Ah ha!" she made quick work of putting a pair of white Velcro trainers on her daughter's feet and lifted the girl back into her arms. "Right. Are we all ready to go?"

"I am!" Emma giggles, and pointed to Brenna.

"Well I am, so let's-" she then pointed to Dick, who was beaming a happy smile. "...you have to say you're ready." Brenna coughed awkwardly and looked to him.

"Well I'm ready too."

"Let's go to the park!" Emma jiggled happily in her mother's arms, sat in her hip. "All three of us!"

"Wh-wait."

"Sounds great to me." Dick picked up the pink duffle bag Brenna was reaching for, and opened the door. "Ladies first."

"I'm not a lady." Emma blew a raspberry at him. "I'm a girl."

"Oh, I'm sorry. You looked so pretty like your mother, I thought you were a lady too!" Dick chuckled and Brenna narrowed her eyes at him sceptically.

"You won't win me over by playing nice with my daughter." She whispered at him as she walked through the door.

"I want to win you both over." He called after her, following her to the road. "Would you like to have a lift in the limo?"

"No, my beetle is fine."

Without being asked Dick opened the back door and squeezed himself onto the back seat. Emma was strapped into the front passenger seat on her pink car seat, and Brenna drove them to the park. She kept glancing over as Dick tentatively listened to a story Emma was telling him. It was snow white and the seven dwarves. Everyone knew it, but Dick behaved like he didn't. It was sweet really. she wasn't going to tell _him_ that though.

She parked, got Emma out and threw the pink duffle bag at Dick. She was _not_ going to be easy on him. Not one bit. Little did she knew this was nothing compared to working with Batman. Was it a pun to call this child's play in comparison?

Over the course of the morning Brenna's ice queen exterior started to melt. Rich boy didn't mind one bit running around playing tag, playing catch with a ball that gave you instructions when you caught it (like dance or hop on one leg) or chasing her around the jungle gym. The expensive suit jacket was discarded with the bag on the park bench, the top two buttons undone and his sleeve arms rolled up to his elbows.

After a few hours Brenna decided this couldn't be an act. He was just so genuine with his boyish joy as he played with her.

"You know, you have a _lot_ of stamina. I'd be exhausted by now." she remarked to him as he sat with a huff on the bench next to her.

"Emma is amazing." He beamed a smile at her. "She's a great kid. Bruce is going to be so jealous that I've got to play with her." Emma ran up and jumped onto the bench between the two adults.

"Dick taught me how to cartwheel!"

"Did he now?"

"Yeah!" Emma pushed herself off the bench and skipped over to a free bit of grass. She failed the first time, but the second and third time she did a very good, albeit wobbly, cartwheel. "See!"

"Well done sweetheart!" Brenna applauded her, elbowed Dick, who then joined in.

"That was great Emma. You know, I used to be an acrobat."

"Did you?" Brenna eyed him suspiciously.

"Yes. You might have heard of my family a while back. The flying Grayson's." He saw the cogs click together in her head.

"Oh, yes, I remember reading about that." she held a sad smile for him. That was very sad. His whole family being killed right in front of him.

"It's ok. Bruce adopted me soon afterwards. He really saved me."

"I see." Brenna returned to watching her daughter when she returned to sitting between them.

"Can I be an acrobat one day?"

"Of course you can. If you work hard. You can do anything if you work hard." Dick dropped his hand onto her head and messed up her hair, making her giggle.

"Like mommy became a teacher?"

"Yes. Just like your mother." He then smiled up at her and saw her (finally) grinning back at him.

"Mommy. Can we have a juice box please?"

"I don't know. Can we?" Brenna looked at Dick, who stared back for a moment, before he remembered _he_ had the pink duffle bag.

"Right, yes." He pulled the bag onto his lap and fished around inside it. "We have at the bar today-" he put on a fake French accent. "-apple, orange and strawberry flavoured. What would the ladies like to drink today?"

"Why is he talking funny mommy?" Emma looked bewildered at her mother, who was sniggering behind her hand.

"He's trying to be funny dear."

"Oh. Should I laugh?" Dick blinked at the two.

"No, that would only encourage him."

"Ok." Emma turned to look at him and pointed to the apple one. "That one please." He handed over the apple juice box with a blush and watched Brenna take the orange one. He was resound to having strawberry, and drank it in shame.

"You are both so like him." he chuckled and winked at Brenna, who raised a brow at him.

"Like who?"

"Like someone Dick knows." Brenna gave him a warning look, then looked at her watch. "Well, we need to get back. It's been fun today going to the park with Dick hasn't it?" Brenna tapped her daughter's nose, who looked up from her juice box and nodded frantically.

"Yes yes yes, lots of fun. You can come again."

"Well great." Dick chuckled and watched Brenna stand up and pack up their things. "I'd love to come to the park again with you. or see you both anyway. Like for dinner or at your house or-"

"Stop fishing." Brenna took Emma's hand and walked them back to the little beetle. She spied the black limo across the road, and loaded Emma into her car seat. "Just a second honey. Just going to say goodbye to Dick."

"Ok. Bye bye Dick!"

"Goodbye Emma." Dick waved at her, before finding his arm hooked and being dragged around the back of the car. Well out of eye or ear shot of the little girl.

"You will _never_ ambush me like that again."

"I just-"

"You will never turn up at my house uninvited like that again."

"But-"

"In future you will arrive by planned invitation." He stopped arguing and pointed to her.

"You mean...you'll invite me over?"

"Yes." Brenna tucked her brown bob behind her ears and held her middle. "And I'll...let Bruce know when he's invited. Same goes to him." she pointed at his face. "He doesn't turn up unless I invite him. and I control if Emma's there or not. And he isn't to tell her he's her grandfather. I'll decide when the time is right."

"Of course." Dick nodded frantically at her with a big smile.

"And you tell him this." She stepped closer to him and jabbed his chest with that same finger. "He has one more chance. If he ever, _ever_ behaves like that towards me _or_ Emma, you are _all_ out of our lives. Permanently. Understood?"

"Absolutely." He diffused her intimidation routine by yanking her into a hug and kissing her forehead comically.

"Get off me." She grumbled, haphazardly pushing him off.

"Alright. Brilliant. Good. Great." He was smiling from ear to ear. "Well I'll go and tell everyone the news. And we'll wait for you to call us."

"Right." She felt like she could be making a terrible mistake. But surely Bruce couldn't be a total ass if he raised such a good kid like Dick. He seemed genuine enough. "See you round." Brenna got into the car and drove off.

Dick practically jumped into the car and twittered into Alfred's ear the whole journey home.

"Oh by Jove another long lost Wayne!" he chuckled as he turned into the drive way of Wayne manner. "And Master Bruce a grandfather. Oh he will be pleased."

"Especially when he hears she's going to invite him to meet them both."

"Oh haven't you done well Master Dick." Nightwing got out of the limo before Alfred could open the door for him, hugged the man, then stormed into the house to look for the eldest of the Batmen.

He didn't have to look for long. Bruce practically jumped him the moment he entered the foyer.

"You were gone all morning." He accused. "You weren't arrested; I would have heard that over the radio."

"I was at the park, with Brenna and Emma." He beamed a smile and ushered the confused man to sit with him in the living room. "They are _just _like you!"

"Who is Emma?" Bruce tried to stop his adopted son from going 3 steps ahead of himself.

"Your granddaughter." Master Wayne looked like he'd stopped breathing.

"Brenna has a daughter?"

"Yes. She's five, and she's the cutest kid I've ever seen. A fan of apple juice and cartwheels. Oh, and Disney films." He ran a hand through his black curtains and sighed happily. "And Brenna is just like you. Sceptical to a fault. She does this thing you do too." He turned and indulged the emotionally starved man. "She folds her arms over her chest and narrows her eyes at you until she's no longer mad. Then she reverts to subtle sarcasm. And she's straight to the point with everything. She's definitely in charge!"

"She's really like me?"

"Oh yeah. And just as stubborn." Dick play punched his mentor's arm. "She sure is something. Oh, but this all comes with a warning."

"What's that?" Bruce's head was reeling. He'd finally gotten permission to meet his daughter, to discover he had a granddaughter too.

"You have one last chance. If you ruin it, that's it. For all of us. And none of us are allowed to tell Emma who we are to her until Brenna thinks she's ready for it. So she knows me as Dick, not Uncle Dick. And you can't introduce yourself as Granddad Bruce until Brenna says it's ok."

"That's going to be hard."

"Baby steps Bruce." Dick sank into the sofa and relaxed. "Oh, and that kid has got some stamina. I was running around with her for hours. I'm exhausted now."

"Dick." He put his hand on his charge's shoulder, getting him to open his eyes and look up at him. "I...I mean. If you hadn't have-"

"It's ok B-man." Dick put his hand on Bruce's shoulder and nodded at him. Bruce didn't do 'thank you' very well. "Besides, I think this will be good for all of us. I think Brenna and Emma will remind us how to be human beings for a change. Not Bat-men."

"Yes..."


	10. Chapter 10

It was anything but quiet in the Joker's hide out.

There was screaming, shouting, things exploding, the sound of various henchmen bustling about the place, the sound of metal on metal, and of course, the sound of the crown prince of crime's incessant cackling echoing around the warehouse, and her head.

Jaclyn had removed all of her makeup and the jester outfit last night, and sat on the tiny little bed in the corner of the office room in a pair of Harley's black and red polka dot sleeping shorts and a white t-shit. It had the Joker's face painted onto it...

Well she only had one set of sleeping clothes, and she got a clown thug's blood on it.

She sat there, combing her long blonde hair with one hand (and a comb), and the other clutched onto a shotgun. It was sawn off, so it wasn't too clumsy for her to hold, but still made her feel safe.

Safe?

Here? Really?

She'd had a nightmare in the night that the Joker had come in to beat her senseless for being dragged out of the car, and then slit her throat.

She woke up holding her throat and panting.

Jac had been sat there for a few hours now. she needed the toilet, and she was hungry.

But every time she contemplated going out of the room, she'd hear the distant howling of the Joker, and cling to the bed and the gun harder.

However, something got her attention and made her tip toe over to the door, to listen through the key hole.

"Yeah 16 years ago, and a bit. She sure as hell wasn't pregnant when she was with me." Jac peered through the key hole and saw the Clown prince, in his full purple and green glory, sat at his desk with the phone in one hand, and a knife in the other. He was gesturing with it as he spoke. "I want names of people who I didn't kill back then that might know who knocked the bitch up. I'm planning a little family reunion. With her father and her dead mother!" he cackled and stabbed the knife into the desk. "And I'm wanting it to be sooner rather than later, understood? What do you mean another way?" She pressed her ear hard against the key hole. "You know what, that's a great idea. You get the list of names, I'll get the blood. Seeya round budy, and keeeeeeeeep smiling!" he then slammed the phone down, yanked the knife out of the table and started grinning from ear to ear. "Harley!" he screeched. "Where the hell are-"

"Here Mr J! I was just-aah!" Jaclyn heard the thud of Harley falling to the floor. "S-sorry Mr J. I was cooking your lunch."

"Hn." He grunted, and Jac strained her hearing, desperate to know what _the hell_ he meant by getting 'the blood'?! "Johny, our good friend and accountant, has given me a fantastic idea pumpkin."

"Go on puddin'."

"Apparently Gotham has a database, with all our unique DNA on it. he also has a dirty cop in the forensics department, who could run the bitch's blood and see who her pops is! If he's a criminal who's be active in the last 20 years, he'll be on there!"

"...oh...that's..._great_ Mr J." Harley laughed nervously.

Jac actually clutched her chest to still her rapidly beating heart. It felt like it was about to leap out of her mouth and splat against the door.

That _was_ a fantastic idea. A fantastic way of getting her _killed_. The Joker's DNA would be in that database for sure! What the Joker had planned would have sent him on a wild goose chase. She was fine with a wild goose chase. That involved her staying alive. But with a click of a button and a short waiting period, the Joker would get the truth and Jac would get her brains blown out.

"So I'll just get some blood from the brat, and send it over to John so his rat can get Gotham's finest on it." he giggled with glee, and his heavy footsteps could be heard coming towards the door. Jac whimpered and crawled back from the door.

She sat on the bed and grasped the shotgun for dear life.

What should she do?

Should she fight him off? No, that wouldn't work. He was the Joker for heaven's sake. He was more than capable of dealing with a teenage girl.

Did she bluff him and let him take the blood, and make a run for it as he transported the blood?

Or did she let him do the test and just wait and see if he might miraculously _want_ his daughter?

_Nah, I'll run for it once he's gone. If he finds out I'm his, it won't matter. I'll be gone then. Long gone. Like metropolis gone. Or another country. Yeah, I hear Spain is nice this time of year. Yeah, I'll run away to Spain. _

The door creaked open slowly, and looked into the eyes of her predator with big fearful green orbs. He was giving her his full Joker grin, red lips peeled back over sharp looking white teeth and his left brow twitching. He practically skipped into the room, arms wide open, a sharp hunting knife hanging from splayed fingers. His other hand grabbed the front of his jacket like he was about to break out into the Charleston. "Good news kid, I'm going to find out who your daddy is. Then I'm going to cut him from his mouth to his ass." He giggled and ran a hand back through his messy green mop of hair. He pointed at her with the knife.

She was going to either faint, or be sick.

Hopefully not both in that order.

"Oh really?" she swallowed some bile. "How?"

"I'm going to get some of your DNA, then run it against Gotham's criminal database, and ding ding ding! I'll know who, then I'll hunt him down and ask why, then I'll just hunt him." Joker bounced down onto the bed next to her and put an arm around her tense shoulders. He then tapped the gun she held to her chest with the knife. "Now be a good doll face and put that down. Wouldn't want any accidents to happen to good ol' Mr J, would we?"

"N-no." Jac shakily put the gun on the floor, and slowly sat straight again.

"Good. Now, I'll have some of those hairs." He slipped his gloved hand around her neck, feeling her pulse hammering against his fingers. He twirled a thin lock of hair around his fingers then held them tightly. "One, two-" he yanked on two and giggled at her reaction.

"FU-KING-MOTHER-" She then shoved her fist into her mouth, or at least as many knuckles as she could fit between her teeth. Her foot had also stomped the floor a few times too. The Joker put the hairs, with tags, into a plastic sandwich bag. He then opened another one, and grabbed her wrist. Out of instinct Jac yanked the hand back and held it to her chest.

"Doll face." He peeled his lips back over his snarling grin, and snatched her hand away from her chest. "Don't make me angry."

Jac was shaking like a leaf. She wanted to launch herself off the bed, out of the warehouse and onto the first plane out of Gotham. The fear in her eyes was pissing him off further, for reasons he couldn't fathom, as he growled and looked to Harley in the doorway. She looked worried too. "Harley, hold the brat for me will ya?"

"Sure Mr J." Harley chuckled nervously, also getting Joker's attention. The woman sat next to her and grabbed her shoulders firmly. "Now come on puddin'. Mr J is just going to get some blood. Don't keep him waiting now." her arm still trembled as the Joker brought the blade down to her palm. He hummed the tune to 'I'm a little tea pot, short and stout' as he sliced a very slow, very shallow cut across her palm. He got enough blood on the edge of the knife for the lab to test, then put that in a sandwich bag too. He then released her hand with the intention of saying 'see? Didn't Dr J say it would be ok?'...but she yanked her hand back, launched herself from the bed and out of the door.

"If you leave this warehouse toots I'll cut you into mini doll faces!" Both Joker and Harley bolted after her, and only stopped when they saw where she'd been heading.

The bathroom.

The door slammed behind her, and Joker thrust the baggies at Harley. "Shove those into a bag whilst I go kick the shit out of the brat, will ya pumpkin?"

"S-sure thing puddin'." Harley stood there and watched the Joker roll up his sleeves as he approached the toilet door. She then turned away, unable to watch what was coming next. Joker was serious when he rolled his sleeves up. She then caught sight of something in the bedroom that brought tears to her eyes.

There was a wet patch on the bed.

Jaclyn had wet herself, she was _that_ scared. _Poor baby_... Harley blocked out the world, like only Harley could, and packed the baggies into a rucksack for her puddin'. She then made quick work of changing the bed for another one (from one of the other office rooms) and set that one on fire. If anyone asked her why she was burning a bed in the middle of the warehouse, she'd just say she felt like it, and do some sort of mad dance. She was Harleen Quinzel, the Joker's Harlequin. She was _insane_ enough to randomly burn furniture after all.

Joker banged his fist on the bathroom door and snarled a stream of profanities at her. many involved derogative things about her mother, things he was going to do to her when he got this door down, and how damn well sorry she was going to be once he was finished with her, if he even _allowed_ her to keep breathing after defying him like that.

It was a while before he stopped hissing and listened through the door.

He could hear her sobbing.

He liked that even less.

"Open the fucking door princess! If I have to open this door then it will be with a fucking bazooka, understand me doll face?"

Jaclyn Ester sat in the shower, with it on, and drenched herself in water. She tried to clean herself to the best of her abilities, and she did for the most part. She now just sat there, soaking wet, in the bottom of the shower and sobbed into her knees. Her long blonde hair became slick to her neck and back, as her fringe did to her forehead. She watched the swirls of red dance in the water, dripping from her trembling hand.

_He's going to find out. He's going to kill me. _

"OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR DOLL FACE!" she sobbed harder. Little did she know, that was pissing him off more.

_Look at me. I had big dreams of becoming a strong villainess and one day meeting my father. Fighting alongside him. Making him proud of me. Making my life worth everything I've gone through. Being loved by __someone__. Instead he's going to kill me here, in this shower, in pissy pj's with his face on them. I'm so pathetic. _"THAT'S IT! HARLEY, PASS ME MY BAZOOKA!"

"Pumpkin, I'll use my mallet to open the door."

"Just fucking do it."

In slow motion the door burst at the hinges, and fell to the floor. Harley tried to run in first, but found herself planted face first into the floor. Joker had kicked her in the back for getting in the way and stormed straight over to the bath. He pulled the shower curtain open and glared down at the girl. His blood was boiling in his veins with rage. How _dare_ this little bitch defy him?! she _belonged_ to him! She had the fucking nerve to run away from him after he'd treated her so good! She had her own room, he took her out on a heist, and he promised her diamonds if she was good. And, he was trying really hard not to smack the bitch about, and this is how she repays him? Makes him look like an idiot, banging on the bathroom door, with all his men watching?

This bitch was going to die!

He reached out to grab a fistful of her hair, when she looked up at him.

In that moment, Jac no longer cared.

"This is why she left you, you know."

Joker's world stopped. His breath caught in his hissing mouth, and his body froze in place.

The kid was just sat in the bath, looking up at him with tired green eyes.

"...what?" his voice came out in broken pieces. Was she talking about Jane?

"She warned me. In the 'I'm dead letter'. She gave me all her toys and costume and the back story about her being the Jester." She sniffled and wiped her tears on her hand. If she was going to die, she was going to get this off her chest. "She talked about you. She never stopped loving you. I never had a dad for as long as I've lived, because of how she felt about you." She whimpered through her wounds, and saw Joker lower his hand. "Every birthday I had, had a clown. My room was decorated as a circus. Whilst all the other kids had dolls and action figures, I had clown teddies and magic tricks. She never loved again."

"Then..." Joker peeled those shocked lips back into a venomous grin. "Why did the bitch leave me if she fucking _loved_ me so _fucking _much?!" he reached forward and grabbed Jac's shoulder, yanking her to her feet and slamming her against the wall. "You seem to have more fucking answers than you let on kid. If you want to keep breathing then-"

"She thought you'd kill me." Jac closed her eyes and turned away from him, still sobbing. "She warned me in the letter I shouldn't get myself into causing trouble unless was going to be good at it. She meant you, didn't she? she meant if I was going to take up the mantle, I better be good enough to protect myself from you." he released her like she'd burnt him. "I was so stupid. I'm 16 years old. All I wanted was to meet you." she sank back into the bath and pressed her head back against the wet wall. "I've been so stupid. I've done the one thing my mother didn't _want _me to do." She opened her eyes at that moment and caught his gaze. His eyes were a torrent of feelings. "Meet you." She didn't know if he was going to laugh, cry, turn and walk away, or beat her senseless with that blank face. Either one would result in a psychotic overload the Joker was renowned for.

"Who got her pregnant." He ground out. she lowered her 'I-no-longer-give-a-fuck' gaze to her fists. They were by his sides, clenched and shaking with bubbling rage.

"Puddin', can't you see?" Harley clung to his shoulder desperately, only to be back handed with such a force, she fell to the floor, unconscious.

"Who fucking spawned you kid?"

It was strange. He was more terrifying now, when he didn't have an expression, and his voice was monotone and quite, rather than his usual jovial grinning and cackling. She'd have never guessed that if she wasn't witnessing it now.

He was like a tightly turned coil, about to spring out and snap her neck at any moment.

"You have my DNA. You tell me."

"No. I don't think I will." Finally that grin appeared on his bloody lips, and he finally reached out and fisted her hair. He then turned, dragging her out of the bathroom and out of the warehouse. He only stopped to snap at a good to bring 'the black bag' to him.

Jaclyn grabbed his wrist, trying to either A, make him let go, or B, lessen his grip so it didn't feel like he was joining to scalp her then and there. she got her wish, as she collided first with his knee to her stomach, winding her, then fell on her front onto the floor. She gasped for air, and for the world to stop spinning, as she shakily dung her fingers into the ground. When she managed to look up, she saw the Joker rooting around his bag of goodies. He then proceeded to kick the living shit out of her. "Once-" kick. "-twice-" kick. "-three times a laaaaady!" he giggled with glee, revelling in the fun of beating her up, and the prospect of being rid of this annoying little puzzle. "Now I have your DNA, and you've kindly provided that rich source of information about your dear Maa, for me, I really don't need to punish myself by keeping you _around _anymore! Aint that great?" he kicked her again, hard, and sneered when she spluttered blood onto his shoe. He then kicked her again, to wipe the blood off. "Right, now for your swimming costume."

_Swimming costume_? Her swirling mind managed to pull itself together enough to see she was at the edge of the docks. The dark water rippled at the surface, so dark and so deep she couldn't see the bottom. Well, she would soon. "Ah, lucky for you, this is a one size fits all!" he cackled with mirth and grabbed her foot, pulling her closer to the edge of the dock, and into a convenient line for him to 'dress' her.

"What, didn't have it in yellow?" she managed to splutter as he picked up some dirty, rusty gray chains.

"Nah toots, it's not a popular issue."

"Let me guess." She spat some blood out of her mouth. "The inflatable version is a bigger hit?"

"You know what, I think it is!" he giggled and lifted her ankles, beginning his mission of coiling the thick chains around her body. "You know, I wish all my victims joined in the joke like you did. It's _almost_ a shame to kill you." he wheezed at his own joke and started pushing her back and forth on the ground to get the chains around her body further. He then started wrapping it around her wrists. "Then I remember how fucking annoying you are, and then I think it is worth killing you!"

"Well, glad to have that all cleared up then." She looked deep into his eyes, something none of his victims had ever done before. It actually halted his movements. "You know, I know you don't know any better. And I want you to know I forgive you for killing me." He cocked his head to one side. Clearly, that was a new one for him. "I just have one request."

"OH I bet you do." He giggled, finishing his work with a final wrap of the chains around her neck. He then picked up a padlock and started throwing it up and catching it, mockingly as he indulged her last request.

"My Maa is buried at Gotham central cemetery, plot number 0801. I know there won't be a body, but I'd like to have a grave next to my Maa. It doesn't have to have anything on it by my name. Even if you're not going to, could you tell me you will anyway?" tears slugged from her eyes and her lips trembled. "Please."

"...my inmate number is 0801." He stared down into her eyes, and he saw something there. this was _her _kid. No matter how annoying she was...could he really kill Jane's daughter? Wasn't this the very reason his Jester left him in the first place? For fear of him harming her daughter?

"Please." She started sobbing again. He snarled and looked away. He hated seeing this damn girl cry. Especially as she always looking him in the damn face when she did.

"Fine. I'll do it." he got to his feet and almost jumped out of his skin when one of his henchmen came running up. "What does a gentleman have to do to get a little privacy when he's disposing of a body?"

"Sorry boss!" the large clown thug was bleeding from his busted nose, and bashed in teeth. "Harley woke up, and beat the shit out of everyone. She's looking for you boss!"

"So?"

"She's trying to stop you killing the kid."

"Oh is she now?" Joker put his hands on his hips and shook his head comically. "Why does everyone try to ruin my fun?" he then turned and looked down at the weeping girl. "Bottom's up kid!" He picked up a broom and pushed it to her front.

"At least I got my wish." She closed her eyes and relaxed. "I got to meet you."

"The pleasure was all _yours_, I _assure_ you." He then brought the broom back. "Hay kid! Where do shellfish go to borrow money?" her sad little green eyes opened and she giggled softly.

"To the prawn broker." The broom collided with her gut.

Her body slid over the edge of the dock.

She couldn't remember feeling the water as she hit it, or the cold of it. She remembered seeing the Joker's face as he watched her drown. He was grinning and pointing, getting his goon to join in the fun.

Then she couldn't see anything at all.


	11. Chapter 11

"Where have you been?!" Harley was surrounded by unconscious and bloody henchmen, her mallet equally bloody. "Oh no, oh no oh no oh no!" Harley dropped the mallet and ran over to Joker. Joker opened her arms for the woman, only to watch her look around him, like he was hiding something.

"Pumpkin, I'm home and I'm really hungry. I fancy Italian tonight I think. Not pizza though. Something with meatballs." Joker went over to his table and released a content sigh. He always felt better after offing someone. He then looked up when he didn't receive the usual 'right away Mr J'.

Harley had fallen to her knees and held her face in her hands.

This was off behaviour, even by Harley's standards. He ignored her for a while, scowering over his map and moving tooth picks around.

It was 30 minutes before he couldn't stand the immobile form of Harley. "What the fuck is twisting _your _knickers?"

"You killed her."

"Yes I did. Felt damn good too." He giggled, but the grin soon slipped of his face when he saw how she was looking at him. It was like everyone else looked at him. Halfway between disgust, confusion and shame. "What?!" he brought his fist down onto the table, expecting that to make her jerk back to her normal self like usual. But she just got to her feet and dusted herself off.

"I promised I wouldn't tell you until you found out, or she was ready to tell you, but as she's now _dead_ I don't see the harm." She spoke matter-of-factly and stood with her arms folded over her chest. Harley focused on the desk however, not the man. "16 years ago and 9 months, give or take, Jane Ester became pregnant with Jaclyn Ester. Where was Jane Ester at that time?" Joker grumbled. He hated when she spoke to him like he was stupid, but indulged her due to the odd mood she was in. Her blue eyes were cold. They were never cold to him.

"In my gang."

"And?"

"And what?"

"Whose bed was she in?"

"Mine, supposedly. Then whoever-"

"Where you having _sex_ in that bed?" Joker got to his feet and contemplated coming over there and smacking her silly. Every now and again Dr Quinzel emerged from under the crazy suit of Harley, and that pissed him off even more. He never won the argument when she did this.

"Of _course_ we were. We-"

"_Unprotected_ sex? Or did you _always_ use a condom?" Harley wiped a stray tear from her face then.

"What? I don't use condoms. You know that. They piss me off with the little packets and-"

"And you had only been practising this dangerous lifestyle for a few years then, right? So _everything-_" she gestured to his nether regions. "-was in working order?"

"What the fuck are you trying to say?"

"I'm trying to say that you just murdered your own daughter." Harley then turned and started packing a bag of weapons. "So Italian was it?" she huffed a sigh. "I could get us a Lasagne if you want. With extra cheese and-"

"The _fuck_ did you just say to me?" Joker was behind her, the heat from his seething body radiated through the woman. If she wasn't used to regular visits to the hospital, this would have unnerved her.

"I said I could get lasagne with-"

"Don't be fucking funny with me Harley." she dropped the bag and held herself.

"You never were very good with maths pumpkin. Or very observant. I knew from the moment she had blood lust in the middle of a fight. Well, I suspected, but-"

"No, it's not true." He chuckled it off, putting his hands in his pockets and sliding on his feet to her side. "She'd have said. When I said I was going to find out who her dad was. She would have said it was me. I'm not her dad. Besides." He shrugged his shoulders. "Jester wouldn't have fucked off if she was up the duff with _my_ kid. No, she _left_ because-"

"Joker!" Harley wiped the bag off the table and for the first time in her life, made the active decision to cross him. "If you hit her anywhere _near_ how much you beat _me_, yes-she-would. You always say you hate kids. Hell, if I found out tomorrow _I_ was pregnant, I'd leave you."

Oh...

She was asking for it then. "When you become a mother, it's not your life that's important anymore. Both Jane and I chose this life. We chose to be with you, to let you kick the shit out of us in exchange for your chaotic love. But as soon as you have a kid to think about, that's _all_ you think about. Mothers do their best for their children. And let's face it honey, you just proved the Jester right by killing your kid. With your own hands." She covered her mouth with her hands and sobbed hard. "You killed her. you killed her." Harley just repeated over and over again. Every time she did, it felt like someone was dragging a sharp blade over his chest.

"No." He started unleashing his anger now, and grabbed her shoulders with a brutal force. "NO! If she was mine, she would have said! Jane would have told me. I'd have raised her! I-I'd have taught her everything!" he was shouting in Harley's face, but the damn woman wouldn't stop crying. "No! She isn't mine! Some fucker must have raped her Maa or-"

"You know you still have her hair and blood. You want the truth. Go get it tested." Harley then did something she never did in her life.

She pushed the Joker off her.

She picked up her bag and walked out of the door. "I don't know when I'll be back." she said, before disappearing into the dark.

Joker stood there, stunned.

A menagerie of thoughts, voices, screaming, crying, laughing all swam in his head.

"You're all fucking insane." Joker dropped into his chair and drummed his fingers on his desk, looking around the quickly emptying warehouse for answers. "She isn't mine."

"_At least I got my wish. I got to meet you."_

"She isn't. No she-she'd have fucking said when I was..."

When he was killing her.

"_...I forgive you for killing me..."_

He spied the small black rucksack with the baggies in it. He grabbed it and stormed off into one of their stolen cars. He'd get this all cleared up, do the damn test, and then kick the living hell out of Harley. Yeah, that's what he'd do.

"Well this is a new one."

Batman had received the call from the commissioner, and anticipated a trap. An ambush, something. Some sort of Joker related trick.

It wasn't every day the Joker sat in the middle of central park on a bench, and...didn't do much else. He appeared to be drinking from a vodka bottle, but other than that, he just sat there. It was 4 in the morning, and he was sat, pissed as a fart, on the bench in central park.

Batman, Nightwing, Red Robin, and many of Gotham's finest surrounded the area and locked it down. Batman and his protégé's approached first, all armed to the teeth and ready for anything.

Well...except what they found.

"You took fucking long enough." Joker sat in his purple trousers and mint green dress shirt. No jacket. His bracers hung by his knees, his shirt was open and his white vest was visible. He had a half eaten pizza next to him, and a quarter bottle of vodka in his hand. "Really Bats. I can't make it easier for you."

"What are you up to Joker?"

"About 10 times the legal limit I'd say." He attempted a chortle, but it died in his throat. "Let me just make that 11 times." He took a final gulp of vodka, cleared his throat and threw the bottle behind him. it smashed on the floor, and Joker wobbled to his feet. The three Batmen flinched as he raised his hands. The next action was usually some sort of bazooka, automatic weapon, or tnt sticks lit and ready to blow.

But no.

He put his wrists together and held them there. "Well? You know this dance Bats, don't leave a girl waiting." He mumbled, and that's when they saw his face.

His eyes were red raw. It was a good thing his skin was chemically altered to look like that, because if he was wearing makeup, it would be dripping off his chin by now...with some ignored tears. "Look, I've been really bad so take me to the hoosegow and let's be done with this. I have a date with a lot of meds and an empty cell." Joker started to get frustrated, hissing and shaking his wrists at Batman. "Just arrest me already!"

"What happened?" it was odd. After all these years of nearly killing each other, there were certain times where the two understood each other. And right now Batman couldn't help but see the pain in his adversary's eyes.

"Women! Right?!" he wiped his face on his messy sleeves and put on a smile. His hair was still evergreen, but a terrible mess. Batman swore he even saw bits of twigs lost in that messy nest of green. "I've had it with women. The wife and kid die whilst I'm on the job, then the next woman get's up the duff and fucks off for fear I'll kid the kiddie, then the next one leaves after I _do_ kill the kiddie. But I didn't know she was mine." Joker held his face. "What kind of bitch has my kid and doesn't tell me? I know I'm fucked up, but really? I didn't know she was mine. I didn't. I didn't know." Batman put the Bat-cuffs on him first, then...held him.

Joker had never cried in the years he'd been fighting him. not once. Not even when he'd been shot or kicked in the balls.

But now Joker fisted with his restrained hands Batman's suit and pressed his forehead into his chest. He was clearly trying to hide his mental breakdown, and Batman was inclined to let him.

"Batman, is the Joker-"

"Bring the car round. We're going to Arkham." He hushed with purpose at Nightwing, who nodded and went for the Batmobile. Red Robin just watched as the madman, trying to hide his sobbing in Batman's chest, was awkwardly lifted up and put into the car. Batman got behind the wheel, told the other two to meet him back at base later, then drove off for Arkham.

The police were irate that the Bat wouldn't let them arrest him, and took the glory for locking up the Joker, again.

But Batman could care less at that moment.

Joker slummed in his seat and looked out of the car window, knowing this journey off by heart. "I remember what happened to your wife and unborn child. That's when you changed from the red hood to the Joker." Batman was a detective by nature, and what Joker had mumbled through his sore lips was one hell of a mystery. "Is 'the next woman', the Harley?"

"Nope." Joker drew a smiley face on the car window. He had completely shut down. It was like Batman was talking to an outsider, who knew the Joker and his situation very well. Like a defence personality. "That was Jester."

"You have a child?" Batman couldn't imagine the Joker playing the role of father. What was _that_ kid's upbringing like?

"I found out I had a 16 year old daughter." He shuffled in his seat. "After I'd already killed her." Batman looked at the mad man in the car next to him. "I really am nuts." Joker actually looked the most sane he'd actually seen him. very calm, but very sorry. He didn't giggle, he didn't smile, he didn't make light of the situation, he just sat and stared out of the window.

"I think you need to do as you're told at Arkham this time. I think you are going to _need_ therapy and medication."

"Then Harley left. Doesn't know when she'll be back, she says." Joker drew a cross through the face. "Life's a Joke. But the Joke isn't funny anymore. Every comedian knows if you repeat the same material over and over again it just get's annoying." he turned and looked Batman in the eye as they pulled up outside Arkham. "I've had it up to here with the dead lover and kid routine." He rose his cuffed hands above his head, then dropped them onto his lap. "Not funny."

"I can't condone your life or what you did. But I hope you can find some sort of peace with the help of the doctors here."

"Or a comma. That would be nice."

Batman got out the car, got the willing prisoner to his feet and handed him over to the staff of the prison for the criminally insane. He watched the pathetic shadow of the man he'd been warring with for over 2 decades. Maybe he'd finally gone too far? Perhaps there were limits to what one person can do and take? Even someone as mentally unstable as the Joker seemed to have a bursting point, and he was definitely there.

_He cried into my chest. _

Batman got back into the car (did a quick check for explosives, a habit after transporting the Joker in his car) and returned to the Batcave.

Thinking about the Joker's predicament, and entering everything he'd learnt into his file on the lunatic, he couldn't help but look at his mobile.

If Brenna would just call him then he'd rush over there and be the father she deserved. And the grandfather Emma deserved. Seeing the Joker in that state, and knowing there were times in his life where he could have turned down the same path as the mad man, he couldn't help but feel the urgent need to see his offspring.

He was on his last chance. He couldn't just turn up. Bruce took off his suit and showered. When he came out he saw the time. it was 6am. He particularly shouldn't turn up on his offspring's door at 6 in the morning.

He couldn't help himself. There were offspring he _could_ check on. He pushed the door open and saw Tim was already asleep. He was laid on his front, in his plain red pj bottoms, one leg hanging off the edge of the bed, one arm under the pillow, one on top, his face to one side and his mouth open. His blanket was also on the floor. Bruce smiled and used his Batman-esk stealth to slip into the room and cover his youngest charge with the blanket. He then waited to make sure he hadn't woken the boy, then slipped back out.

He then blinked at Dick in the hallway.

"You know." Dick whispered to his mentor as Bruce passed him with a 'i-wasn't-caught face. "I'm _sure_ it's the mum that tucks in the kids at night. Were you going to sneak into my room next?"

"What? No." Bruce put his hand on his shoulder and guided him back to his room. "You're 28. I wouldn't demine you like that."

"No?" Dick pushed his door open and stood in the doorway, arms folded and a cheeky brow raised. "Except for when I bring women home. Then you are overcome with the urge to 'check' in on me."

"Of course." He mockingly cupped Dick's face and gave him a sarcastic smile. "Then I'm _very_ concerned that you aren't asleep past curfew."

"Ah, so sweet of you. I second that _that_ is a mother figure thing. So I should be the father figure." Bruce then put his hands on Dick's shoulders, gently pushed him into the room, took a hold of the door handle and closed it with that same sarcastic smile on his face. Dick rolled his eyes and smirked at his mentor and friend, even as he literally closed the door in his face.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Everything hurt.

Just...everything hurt.

Her bones ached.

Her skin was tight.

Her chest felt heavy.

Her ribs felt bruised.

She gasped for air and felt the rattling of her chest as she did so, with such desperation, like you would claw at the edge of the cliff as you fell into the darkness.

The weight on her chest became intermittent.

"Ah ah ah ah staying alive, staying alive."

Someone was beating on her chest.

"Ah ah ah ah staying alive, staying alive."

And they were singing the Bee Gees.

She turned her head to one side and vomited the contents of the Gotham River onto the floor. "Yes! Yes come on! Stay alive."

"Stop that damn singing and I will." She spluttered and snapped her shocked green eyes to one side.

_Fuck me_. Jaclyn pushed with her hands on the floor and sat up with a painful start. _I'm alive._ Her eyes blinked several times as she looked around her new surroundings. Mainly for the source of the damn singing. There was no one. She was alone. "Where...?" Jac shivered violently. She'd never felt so cold in her life. She was wet through, in Harley's Joker pj's, and in what looked to be an underground tunnel or sorts. The floor was wet and...she could hear water.

Then she blinked, and she could _see_ water.

Rushing next to her was manmade canal of water, and then she saw a ray of light. To her left was a metal ladder built into the cement bricks of the wall and it let up to a round disk with holes in it. "Is that a manhole?"

"Yes." Jac squeaked and threw herself back against the wall. She scrambled to her feet and clung to the wall for support. "Hay, hay it's ok."

"I'll be the freaking judge of that!" Jac squealed and snapped her soggy head back and forth, looking for the voice. Her eyes jerked her head to a stop when they landed on what she thought was a hand, grasping at the corner of the wall. "You know, I'd be less likely to do a screaming bitch routine if you would come out from the shadows. Just saying."

"If I do...will you promise not to scream or run?" Jac narrowed her green orbs at the hand as it slipped out of sight. The voice was interesting. It had a soft Spanish accent to it. It was feminine, but husky.

"Well...sure why not." Jaclyn folded her arms and flicked her head to one side, trying to get the groggy feeling of near death out of her mind.

"Alright. But be calm. The manhole above us is in an alley way by a main street. We don't want to draw attention to us down here."

"Alright already." Jac was just getting plain bored now. This whole situation was strange.

She should be thinking about the fact that her father had murdered her. She should be contemplating what the hell she was going to do now she was alive. But right now all she wanted to know is who saved her, how they saved her, and why they saved her. "Sweet Jesus I'm going to fall asleep over here."

"Alright, I'm coming out now."

The woman walked around the corner slowly, with her hands up.

The light hit her feet first. They were bare, and almost looked like ordinary feet. Except the toes were tipped with short but sharp claws.

The light travelled up her legs. They were covered in dark green scales. The woman had baggy denim shorts on, with torn edges and a plain black belt holding them up. She wore a plain black tank top, and that was it. Her arms were covered in the same dark green scales, with a lighter green colour under her arms and palms. Coming up from the tank top her neck was a paler green, as was her face. Her eyes were bright and golden, with black slits for pupils. They dilated slightly as she stepped into the dim light from the manhole. Her hair was raven, and twisted into short, thick dreadlocks. It looked like a cute mop, with a fringe dangling over her forehead, and feathered lengths framing her face. They stopped at shoulder length. Her features were actually quite agile, with high cheek bones, and thin lips. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"No, but are you going to _eat_ me?" Jaclyn snapped her eyes from the sharp teeth she could see in the reptilian woman's mouth, to the ladder next to her.

"No!" the woman waved her clawed hands in front of her face. "I'm no more carnivorous than you are! I was swimming in the dock and you landed on me so I-"

"I landed on you?" she cocked her head to one side, distracted by the moment. She saw a cartoon image of her chained up body dropping on the lizard woman's head. It made her giggle.

"Yes. I was swimming along, and your body fell on me. You were already out cold." The woman came towards her, one step, then two. "I carried you into a drain pipe, into the sewers, took off your chains, then resuscitated you. I thought with how long it took for me to get you out of the water it would have been too late." She smiled then, and it brought her golden eyes alive. "I'm so glad you're alright."

"Yeah, so am I. I thought for sure that was my last gig back there." she shivered again, really wishing she could cuddle up to a radiator right about now. "So who are you and why do you look like you're the offspring of Godzilla?"

"Oh." She put her hands on her hips and nodded at her with a toothy grin. Yeah, _that_ was supposed to be friendly... "My name is Angelica Mendez. And I was born this way."

"...right...ok." She nodded and walked up to the reptilian woman. "I'm Jac." She held her hand out, and eagerly the lizard woman took it.

"Pleased to meet you. Thank you for not screaming and running away from me." Those scaly lips pulled over sharp fangs.

"Sure thing angel cakes. Thanks for the rescue. I'm glad to be breathing."

"You're dealing with this all...much better than I thought you would." Angelica smiled at the nickname. "After all, you were nearly killed and you've woken up in the sewers with a scaly freak like me...and you're fine with this?"

"Well, I like to look on the bright side of life. And being alive is a hell of a lot brighter than being dead!" Jac slapped her knee and cackled with a big grin. She ignored the terrified child crying at the back of her mind. She ignored the fact that her father had just tried to murder her. She also ignored the fact that she was only alive due to the sheer FLUKE of falling to her death, on top of this lizard woman.

"You...are very odd, si?"

"Well, runs in the family." The laugh that followed didn't hold as much mirth as she'd intended. It sounded quite sad actually.

"So, Jac, you seem alright. You can go now, if you wish."

"Hah." Jaclyn put her hands on her hips and looked to the manhole. "Where to I wonder?" the blonde saw an image of Pamela in her mind. She couldn't go back to her. it would get out she was alive in no time. then the Joker would come and finish her off for real. She couldn't go anywhere. Not without a damn good disguise. "I'm a dead woman, that needs to stay that way. Or I'll be a real dead woman."

"Who...?" Jac snapped her green orbs to Angelica's golden ones. She knew what question she was asking.

"Who tried to off me? Who tried to book me in to the river bed hotel? To sleep with the fishes?" she put her hands above her head and started stretching comically. "My old man."

"Your...your _father_?!" she looked horrified. "Your _own_ father tried to kill you?"

"Yeah. He did." The blonde's arms lowered to her sides and she looked at her feet sadly. "Yeah he really did. But he's a super villain so I guess I was lucky to survive as long as I did."

"Really?" Angelica seemed to be quite interested in that. "Who _was_ that man with the white face?"

"The Joker. A happy go lucky psychopath." She smiled sadly and sat on one of the ladder runs. "I'd always wanted to meet him. He was so amazing." Angelica dropped to her rump by her feet. It was an odd sight, the scaly woman squatting at the girl's feet. Looking at how tall she was, this was either a really tall girl her age, or a young woman. That thought wouldn't leave her. "How old are you?"

"Me? I'm 20."

"Oh, I'm 16. Anyway." She waved her hands in the air. "He was so pissed one minute, kicking the shit out of me, or Harley, or a thug, or all of us, and then the next is was cracking jokes, and even taking me on heists. I wasn't with him for long...but I'm glad I was for a little while."

"But..." Angelica cocked her head to one side. "He tried to kill you?"

"Yes. So I can never show my face again." She stood up and held onto the ladder. "I need a shower, a change of clothes, and preferably a hoodie. Oh, and a place to hide. Like, forever."

"Oh..." Angelica rose to her feet, an impressive 7 foot of height, and held her elbows. Jac eyed her up and decided she wasn't quite as intimidating as she first thought. "Well...I've just moved into town. My mother had a house here and it backs out onto the Docks. Not a safe part of town, but it was my mother's house so I've moved in. It also means I can come and go as I please, and keep out of sight."

"Good for you. Good luck with that." Jac turned and started to climb the latter.

"Wait!" she paused mid climb and turned to look down at the lizard woman. "What I mean is; I have a place. A safe place that is out of sight. And...well...I'm not from here."  
"I can see that." Jac rolled her eyes and looked pleadingly to the manhole. She was all for being rescued, but this was becoming a _drag_. She had more important things to worry about than stand here and play nice all freaking day.

"Well, you said you have nowhere to go." A clawed hand appeared on her shoulder, preventing her escape. "You are odd, but you don't seem to be afraid of me. Only my mother wasn't afraid of me. Every other person I've met has screamed so fearfully...Would you like to come and stay with me for a while?" The blonde girl jumped down from the ladder, put her hands on her hips, and raised a brow at the woman.

"I'm clearly not all there." she twirled her finger by her head. "Loco, and all that. I'm the daughter of the craziest man in crime, have the imminent prospect of being murdered if I'm caught still breathing, and you want to take me home?"

"I have been alone for quite some time now. And it would be nice to have a friend." she giggled behind her terrifying hands. "Especially one who makes me laugh so much."

Well well well. She said the magic words. It seemed her short exposure to her father had undone all that hard work she did with her mother to control her urges. And her _ego._

"Well." Jac pretended to hold a pair of braces over the soggy Joker shirt. "I couldn't let an adoring fan down. I and do need a place to crash, clean up, so on and so forth. I promise I'll not set fire to the place or anything impolite as that." She held out her hand again. "I'll even let you join my 'gang of one' if you like."

"Gang of one?" Angelica took her hand, giggling and her dreads swaying. "You mean your gang of _you_?"

"Well, it will be a gang of two when you accept." Her left eye twitched, and she continued to shake the reptile's hand.

"_When_ I accept?"

"Welcome aboard." Jac finally released her hand and pointed down the sewer. "Lead the way to home base!" she proceeded to frog march down the path.

"Erm...Jac...it's the other way...?"

"Jeez Angy." Jac stomped back to her new friend with a childish huff. "That's why I said lead the way. So I don't look stupid going the wrong way. Come on angel cakes, get moving! Left, left, left right left!"

They walked the rest of the way in relative silence. The odd joke from Jac got the reptile woman giggling, but other than that, they kept to themselves.

That was, until Jac was plain bored. Apparently, this place of hers wasn't just around the corner.

"So my favourite colour was yellow, but I'm thinking of changing it."

"Can you do that?" Angelica looked over her shoulder at the blonde. "I thought if something was your favourite, it just was?"

"Nope. Not at all. Free will means we can change our minds. About anything."

"Oh, I see." She chuckled again. "Is there a point to that statement Jac?" it was kinda cute how she said her name. It sounded almost like she was saying yac, but not quite.

"Just getting to know the stranger I'm going home with, sheesh." She smirked at the giggle she got from the lizard woman. "So I need a new favourite colour."

"I like green." Jac skipped ahead of the woman, made a point of looking her up and down and raised a brow at her. "Yes, convenient for me I know."

"Right. But you know, now you mention it." she looked her up and down again, and nodded. "I like green too. Alright, green will be my favourite colour from now on. now we have that in common!" she giggled and put her hands on her head. "You know, I never realised how good it was to laugh. I've been terrified for so long, it's nice to just, you know, laugh."

"I know what you mean. I haven't laughed since my mother died."

Wow. That killed the mood.

"Yeah...my maa passed recently."

"Mine too!" A clawed hand grabbed her arm and jerked her to a stop.

"Aw, look at us. Orphans."

"With no-good fathers." She had a sad look in her golden eyes, and smiled sweetly at her new friend.

Or at least, it would have been sweet, if it wasn't for all those razor sharp teeth she had. "Perhaps we were destined to meet." She took both of the stunned girl's hands and shook them in hers. "Perhaps we were fated to be friends. To help each other in our time of grief and uncertainly."

"Erm...or it was just a fluke of chance and I'm grateful?" Jac started to laugh it off.

"The Lord must have sent you to me." At that Jac took her hands back and pointed at her face, quite comically actually.

"I don't believe in that stuff. That's not a problem is it?"

"No of course not."

"Good." She put her hands on the back of her head and walked ahead.  
"You may not believe in God, but he believes in you." Jac rolled her eyes. clearly this was going to be a theme with this chick.

Who'd have thought the one under water freak capable of saving Jac from certain death, had, had also invited her home, and was also a Christian? Go figure.

"Well, you can both believe for the both of us, I guess." She wasn't going to disrespect someone's religion. Whatever you needed to sleep at night she supposed. _Personally I prefer a double sided blade._ "Just tell him to put some extra candy in my stocking this year."

"Oh Jac." She giggled and caught up with her friend. She tucked some of her thick dreadlocks behind her ear, but they fell forward again. "You are confusing God and Saint Nicholas."

"Well, as long as I get my candy..."

They walked in silence for a bit further, then turned down another tunnel.

Jac watched the back of the lizard woman, walking behind her now, and felt the silence creeping up on her again. "My favourite food is anything on a pizza."

"Really? I like pizza. But I love chilli."

"Hmmm, you know they do chilli pizza nowadays. We'll have to order some once we've stolen some cash."

"Stolen?" she stopped in her place and looked at her new friend with worry. "Are you a thief?"

"Amongst other things." Jac put her hands on her hips and pouted sulkily. "Though I've not been doing it for long. I've been on the streets and on the run for so long, I can't go back to that foster home without my deeds catching up with me anyhow. Oh, and there's the whole imminent death upon discovery thing too." Jac hooked her arm with the worried woman beside her. "Can't exactly hold a 9-5 job with a balaclava on, to hide my face from discovery, right?"

"Sure. I..." She looked down to her free hand and frowned. "I also can't go out in the real world. Everyone who sees me fears me. My raised me with her relatives in Spain, but I've always had to remain hidden. Even my grandfather thought I was a demon when he saw me." She sighed and pulled them back into a walk. "with my mother gone, they cast me out. so I can to the only other place I knew I could hide."

"Why Gotham though? From Spain, sunshine and sangria, to Gotham, gun crime and an escalating death rate?"

"I need to be here. My mother's home was here."

"Oh...right." Jac looked ahead of them. A dead end was coming up. She flashed her eyes back up to the reptilian woman. There was more to this story, but they had only just met. who'd blame her for keeping things back. Jac then thought hard. _My turn I suppose._

"Right. My Maa died of a heart attack. She was a super criminal in her heyday, and the main squeeze of the Joker himself." Angelica gasped. "But he's...well he's himself. So when she found out she was up the duff, she ran off with me to the outskirts of Gotham. When she died I got a box full of goodies and a letter explaining everything."

They stopped at the end of the tunnel, facing the ladder and the manhole above it. "I ran away from the hellish foster home I was thrown into, with 30-od other broken brats like me, and met someone who just...got me. She was poison Ivy." Another gasp. "Yeah I know right?" they started to climb the ladder. "She started to train me. I've learnt so much about toxins, antidotes, oh you wouldn't believe. One day, when I have my own hide out, and money, and space, I'm going to have a greenhouse like hers and cover my bullets with the stuff."

"Wow..." Angelica led the way up the ladder, out of the manhole, and straight through a rickety gate into a neglected backyard. "You're serious then."

"Oh yeah. I went on heists and everything. The first night I went out in a proper costume as 'The Jester', after my Maa, I was caught by Harley Quinn."

"No!"

"Yup." They walked up to the back door, and Jac watched as punched a code into an electronic door lock. It clicked open, and they hurried inside. "Then the Joker got his hands on Pam...and beat her up until I went with him. he owned my Maa, so he owned me."

"And he tried to kill you?"

"Yeah. after days of hell, yeah he'd had enough of me." Jac dropped onto a black leather sofa in the boarded up living room and sighed.

"How could he kill his own child?" She sat next to the younger woman, and held her shoulders.

"He didn't know. In the end, I was glad of that. At least I can pretend things might have been different had he known."

And then it finally happened.

She was safe, at last.

She was with someone who cared, at last.

Her body shook first. At first she thought it was just the cold in her bones making her shiver. Then she realised she was sobbing heavily. Her companion wrapped her arms around her and held her as she cried into her chest.

Who was she kidding? If the Joker found out she was his kid, he'd have exterminated her on the spot.

It took time for her to calm down. She then allowed the older woman to walk her up the stairs. She heard the woman apologise about the cold water. She had water, just no heating or electricity. Or gas. She was so cold anyway, it wouldn't make a difference. She did however want to be clean.

Once she was done Angelica handed her a towel, and took a shower herself.

Angelica handed her a pair of clean shorts, a belt, panties and a tank top. It was very baggy, and she wished she had one of her bra's, but they were dry and warm and it was better than that damn Joker shirt she'd been wearing. In fact, she threw that in the bin at the first opportunity.

"What now?"

"What time is it?"

"Really early." Angelica pulled out a working watch from a trinket bowl on the mantel piece. There were other things in there. like a gold crucifix and small pendent. "It's 3am."

"Right. Well, how much money and food you got?"

"I..." she looked humiliated. "I've been rummaging in dumpsters..."

"No problem." She meant that. "We'll head out in the morning and boost some food and gear." She giggled. "Momma needs a new wardrobe. I left the old one with my murderous arsehole of a father."

It seemed she was harbouring some anger towards her idolised father. Well, wouldn't you?

"We? I can't be seen."

"You have anything like a hoodie? Or a coat with a bug hood?"

"I do."

"You got two?"

"...yes, actually I do."

"Great. Then _we _can. I've stolen stuff before. We'll be fine."

They weren't fine. "Run!"

It had started alright.

They had entered the bustling shopping centre at lunch time, from different entrances. Jac had reasoned this would be the busiest time for the shops, and so, it would be easier to shoplift. Less eyes on you. and there were so many youths that wore hoodies now, there was no way they would be recognised.

It started fine enough. They had made a list of things to boost. They wore backpacks and stuffed them with old newspapers to make it look like they were full. That way, any observant security guards wouldn't notice a person entering a store with an empty bag, and leave with a full one.

First they entered a toiletry shop.

"Why are we here?"

"I need to be unrecognisable. I'm very recognisable. Change of hair colour is in order."

"Oh, right." They stood there looking at the different boxes. "What colour do you want to go?"

"No idea. Not green." They both slowly caught each other's gaze, and giggled at that. Considering who her father was, that would be a bit of a giveaway.

"Black?"

"I'm pale. I'd look like a vampire. Or an emo! Oh gawd not an emo." They giggled again.

"Red?"

"Nah...i'm blonde. I'd go ginger too quick."

"Hmm...brown?"

"_boring."_

"Would you just pick one?!" she hushed under her breath, her golden eyes glimmering through the hood. "We shouldn't linger here long."

"Nah...not blonde, green, red, black or brown...so...oo!" she giggled and picked up a bottle of electric blue hair dye. "This one."

"Si, let's go." Jac flicked her eyes over the top of the shelves at the girl at the counter. She was chewing gum and was engrossed in the magazine she'd picked up off the shelf.

"Ok." Jaclyn deftly, to her surprise, unzipped the side of her bag and slipped the box inside. She then saw some hair trimming scissors, and took those too. "You know what." She said, in a normal tone, so onlookers could hear them. "I'm not sure about going red. I think I might ask my hairdresser first. Having dark hair it might not take."

At first Angelica looked ready to ask her what she was talking about, then clocked on.

"Sure." She stopped herself saying si, and walked out calmly with her friend. "I can't believe that worked. We stole something."

"Told tell the world."

"Oh, si."

Jac smiled at her friend. Apparently she was fine with her being the alpha and the boss.

Good.

"Right, now we need clothes."

"Si."

They entered a discount clothes shop, probably one where all the clothes were made in sweat shops, but they didn't think about that now.

There didn't appear to be any security guards, so they wouldn't know anything had been taken unless there was staff watching, or if the alarms went off as they walked out.

"You need to take clothes for you, I'll take stuff for me. That way, we won't get back and have the wrong sizes for things."

"Si."

"So you need?"

"Oh." Angy was getting nervous now. so far no one had seen her face, but she kept getting anxious jitters whenever someone got too close to her. "Trousers, underwear, tops and gloves."

"I'll get you a mask. They have a skiing section here. That will do." Jac saw the nerves in her golden eyes, and rubbed her arm, trying to sooth her. she remembered how it had felt the first time she boosted something, and she was alone. "You ok?"

"Si, let's do this before I'm not."

"Alrighty angel cakes, let's go." They had discussed the plan before they got there. they were to look around at a lot more things than they were going to actually steal, so it wasn't obvious that they were going from point A to B then leave.

And it worked, for the most part.

They managed to fill their bags, actually. They were also on their way out. Jac had walked out first and sat on a bench just outside the shop.

Then someone bumped into Angelica.

She hissed with freight, and the teenage boy saw her face, and screamed like a girl. Jac jumped to her feet and shouted above the screaming people. "Run!".

She did.

On all fours...typical.

They ran for it, bounded down escalators and out onto the street.

Just as the police arrived.

Brilliant.

"I'm so sorry Jac!"

"No worries Angel cakes!" she turned and grabbed the arm of her new subordinate's arm. She jerked her down an alley way and skidded them both to a stop at the manhole. Angelica got the plan, and tore it off its setting. They jumped down and didn't bother putting it back. They could hear the police officers following them. "This is your domain. Where to?"

"Nowhere." She pulled off the bag and the hoodie and threw it at Jac in one swoop. She then shoved her around a corner and turned to face the three cops in pursuit.

Her stance was wide and strong. She threw her arms back and her pupils turned into black slits. She opened her mouth wide, and released a belly freeing snarl.

"Oh shit!"

"It's Killer croc!?" the cops had only glimpsed at her before they jumped back around the corner.

"OOooooh!" Jac clicked her fingers and grinned from ear to ear. "_That's _why you said our fathers are alike, and you look like godzilla's princess."

"Si, now run!" Jac bolted and followed every shouted direction until they were home safe.

Both women laid out in the living room panting and looking at the ceiling.

"I should have recognised that you looked like him."

"Well, I'm glad you didn't." She smiled at me. "I'm nothing like him."

"Good. I don't fancy being your lunch."

Then it hit them.

They'd been successful.

There were no police sirens in the background. None of Gotham's finest banging at the door. "I'm going to have freaking blue hair."

"Is _that_ strange to you?"

"Well, yeah. and I've got to cut my hair too." Jac turned her head and looked at the lizard woman. "Unless you can do it?"

"I can, if you like."

"Well, you can always use a bowl to help you. I wants it pixie short!"

It had gone alright actually. She'd used a bowl to cut it short to her chin level first (it was a big bowl), then trimmed from there. it was a very uneven, wild looking pixie cut, but it would do. It then took only 25 minutes of sitting in the bathtub with bright blue goo in her sunny blonde locks, to turn them electric blue. It looked punky, without it being anywhere near the emo end of the spectrum.

Once her hair had dried naturally (no electricity) it made her look like an actual pixie, with her high cheek bones and petite frame.

Next they looked over their main trophy. The clothes. Jac had seen some cool looking black and brown hoodies, so she nabbed a medium and extra large size (baggy = guess what weapons I'm hiding under this thing?) of each colour and gave the larger ones to Angy. She liked them, and put hers on straight away. Jac had wasted little time changing into a bra, fresh panties, socks and trainers, and plan baggy jeans and a white t-shirt. then the brown hoodie.

"Right boss, food?" Jac looked up at her, stunned.

_She just called me boss._ A wide grin crossed over her face, and she gave her a rare, genuine smile.

"Right. Then weapons."

"OH, yes of course."

"But first." Jac got to her feet and Angelica followed suit. "What is your criminal name?"

"I don't have one...sorry..."

"Wha? Whatcha sorry for?" Jac stretched her arms up and then twisted her body from left to right. "I can't exactly use the one I've been using so far. No point hiding if I keep using the name Jester.

"Ooo, what about blue vengeance?" Angy got to the door and put her black hood up. "Or the blue avenger. Ooo, or the blue meanie?"

"I'm pretty sure that one's taken." Jac snickered to herself. "Am I to take it that all your contributions to my new criminal name are all going to inspired by my new hair colour?"

"...si...?"

"Well, I tell you what. We get you to wear a green body suit, and I'll call you green, and then I'll do the same but blue, and you can call me blue. like power rangers. How's that?" Jac snickered, making light of the whole thing. Nah, they needed serious names.

"Green?" she looked down at herself, like she could see the scales through the baggy clothing. "Could I be black?"

"Sure, we'll be black and blue. Ooh!" she started cackling in such a way, it sent a chill down the reptile's spine. Angelica watched as the girl's lips peeled over her teeth and her eyes were wide with mirth. "We're black and blue, like our enemies when we're done with'em!"

Due to the urgency in their stomachs, food was next. Jac couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten, and the fumes she was running on were about out.

"Being a reptile, I think I can go longer without food."

"Nice for some." Jac snickered, and pulled Angy to a sudden stop. "Look." She dragged her friend against the wall of a building and discretely pointed up the street. Her accomplice looked over her shoulder and saw a delivery truck. "Easy pickings. It's just stopped. The door is open...we'll wait until he's getting the order signed by that house, then jump in, grab whatever we can, and run."

They snuck up behind the truck, waiting until said moment when the driver was busy. Then they grabbed two bulging plastic bags of food each, and ran off down an alley way.

The driver was none the wiser, and drove down the road.

_Then_ they walked of the alley and went home. Just like that.

One of the bags was full of frozen food, so that was no good without a working fridge or oven, but the rest had things in like bread and bagels, cheese and ketchup. And donuts!

They went first...

"Ooooo I'd _kill_ for some meat..."

"...erm..."

"Not you."

"Good." Jac giggled as they laid there in the lounge, their bellies full and smiles on their faces. "I think I'm happy."

"I'm always happy when I have a full stomach."

"No." Jac turned to her friend and grinned from ear to ear. "I mean really. I've never had a real friend. people at school didn't get me."

"I never went to school. I always wanted to."

"No worries there Angel cakes." Jac snickered and looked to the ceiling again. "I went. Well, when I felt like it. whenever I did go, I was sent home."

"Why?" Angy kept her golden eyes on the ceiling, happily letting her eyes follow the swirls in the plaster.

"I kept getting into fights."

"Oh."

"People piss me off." Jac turned on her side and looked away from her friend. "They are so concerned about themselves they don't see who they stand on. Or how they _shouldn't _kick the little guy."

"So...you were a hero that stood up to the bullies?"

"Nah." Jac giggled and flipped over to beam a delirious grin at her friend. "I can't call breaking people's faces and stabbing people with very, very, _very _sharp pencils heroic. And the principle _definitely_ didn't."

Angelica chuckled at that.

"So when you weren't kicking ass at school, you were with your mother?"

"Yeah." Jac smiled, thinking how her mother would berate her for not fitting in, then double check she won the fight, then they'd go out for pizza. "I didn't know it at the time, but my Maa, despite how hard she was trying, was still the Jester inside. She always asked how I did it, and even gave me tips a few times. 'don't use your head, no matter how much you want to headbutt someone, it isn't worth the headache. Use a base ball bat instead'."

They locked eyes, and giggled hysterically. "So." She caught her breath, and asked the question she'd been _dying_ to ask since the incident in the sewer. "Killer Croc?" she watched Angelica tense and stare at the ceiling with a schooled face.

"Si."

"Well he's at Arkham, or in Gotham somewhere. Not spain. So...where you _born_ here, _then _went out to Spain or-"

"I will tell you only because we seem to be fated to this life together. My soul resonates with yours. You are literally all I have." Jac felt her voice fail her. wow. That was deep. "My mother _had_ to become lovers with Killer Croc. She then became pregnant and fled to save my existence."

"Ah, like my Maa."

"No..." there was a snarl just begging to get out. Jac leaned up on her elbows and looked at her friend's face. Sharp black slits, gleaming golden eyes, thin reptilian lips peeling back angrily over sharp fangs.

Not a happy camper "He knew she was pregnant."

"Oh...wasn't he a fan?"

"No. He was not." She spat. "So my mother fled. He knows not that I survive."

"Oh...so you need to hide yourself too, right?" The trance she'd been in had apparently been broken, as she jerked her head to look up at the blue haired girl with a curious look. "Well, I imagine you're not ready to say 'hi pops, remember me? The kid you didn't want? Iiiiiiiiii'm back!'. right?"

"Si..."

"No more than I want to go to the Joker and go, 'guess who isn't dead?!'."

She couldn't help it.

The animated way she acted that out was too much. Angelica snorted into laughter. Both girls became hysterical and clutched their full stomachs with mirth.

"I am glad I have you now, Señorita Azul."

"...wha?" Jac poked her scaly shoulder. "What'cha call me?"

"Oh, Azul is Spanish for blue."

"Huh..." cogs started to turn. "And what is black?"

"Well...negro, but that could be misunderstood in this town."

"Yeah, I guess." She huffed. So much for that plan.

"Funesto is black, meaning dark or evil. And Luto means black as in mourning."

"Oh!" Jac jumped back up and pointed down at the lizard woman's face...more than a little starlting. "I'm Azul, you're Luto!"

"Oh...are you sure?"

"Yeah, it goes! I'll beat'um blue, and you'll make'um damn sorry!" Jac giggled and rubbed her hands together. "This colours thing has worked out. it will definitely do. Now, outfits!"

"Can we just put on a balaclava?" that was odd coming from her soft Spanish accent. It a cute way.

"No!" Jac jumped to her feet and grinned ear to ear. "Presentation is part of the service we will provide! Think about it." She ran into the kitchen and came back with a notebook and pen she'd seen earlier. "Write down the scariest, meanest villains, and the most badass heroes you know if. Well, we'd be here forever, so...3 of each! Go!" Angy fumbled as the pad and pen were thrown at her. she felt like this was some sort of test, so she pushed her dreads behind her ears and got to it.

"I am done."

"What did you come up with?

"Killer Croc, The Joker, and Two-face. And then heroes are Batman, Superman and Nightwing."

"What do they all have in common?" after a few moments of waiting, Jac got bored and jumped the gun. "They all look freaking awesome! We won't be taken seriously unless we look the part."

"Oh...si."

"You get it, right?"

"Si." She nodded and put the paper and pen down. "Why do I think we are going back out?"

"We need a costume. A black one, and a blue one. And for that I need material, and a sewing machine. I'm pretty good now, don'cha know!"


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"I'm nervous."

"Good. It will keep you on your toes."

"But-"

"Luto." She grabbed the taller woman's shoulders and nodded at her. enough said. "Let's go."

Two women walked into a small time gun shop. They were dressed from head to foot in stretchy leather look fabric. The tallest one was in a black skin suit, the smaller in a dark blue one. The masks they wore were full face masks, with just their eyes showing. One pair were golden with black slits, the other were green and filled to the brim with excitement.

They were also each armed with a large plank of wood...

...clearly about to be replaced by this gun shop.

"We don't want your money." Jac, the boss lady, took the lead. "We just want some weapons. I want knives."

"I want those." she pointed to a large pair of spiked knuckle dusters he had on the wall.

"Give them to us, and I swear we won't break anything, we won't hurt anyone, and we will never come back to this shop." Jac then leaped forward and sat on the glass counter, her feet pressing the store owner back against the wall, and away from the panic button on the counter. "Fuck with us, and your store will be the least of your problems. And I promise I won't _start_ with your _face_." She whispered, leaning closer to him, the plank of wood still in her hands. "So!" she giggled, scaring him even more than the threat. "Those knuckle dusters for my friend, and I'll have two machetes and four smaller knives. Thank you." she grinned, sat there, waiting for him to move. "Oh, sorry, the feet. Sorry, this is very strange for me. I've been somewhere more than a minute and I'm not covered in blood. It's great!"

"I-s-sure. T-take what you want." He whimpered.

"Good." Jac then remained sat there, and beckoned with her hand for Angelica to get the stuff. She grinned from ear to ear as she saw the joy in her friend's eyes as she put on the silver alloy knuckle dusters. Over the four knuckles on each one there were small spikes. Perfect. "Open the counter."

"Yes, j-just don't hurt me."

"If you're good. I swear I won't." she then parted her legs so he could put the key into the lock and slide the glass door open. "Hay, I'll remember this you know." He nearly jumped out of his skin when she patted him on his middle-aged head. "When I'm big stuff, I'll put your shop under my protection. Free of charge."

"Th-thanks." Well, what else was he to say?

"Ooooo, nice machetes! I'll take two please." She giggled and took them, hopping off the counter, and strapping the scabbards to her belt. She had one on either side and grinned, happy as Larry. She unsheathed them, and saw that one side was curved with a sharp blade, and the other side was straight, but serrated. _Oh yeah_. "Ok, we'll be going now."

"FREEZE, GOTHAM PD. WE HAVE THE PLACE SURROUNDED. COME OUT NOW WITH YOUR HANDS UP."

"Nope." Jac just turned and wagged her finger at the shop owner. "Bad boy. Deal's off." In a split second she swung round with the plank and smashed him upside the head. She then bolted for the back door and kicked it in. The shop backed into an alleyway. Perfect. "Lead the way Luto."

"Si Azul." Angelica leapt out the door and over to a manhole. She avoided a flurry of gunfire, and lifted up the manhole. Luckily, it was around a corner so she was safe.

However, they now had a problem. The distance between the shop and the alley way was too far for a regular Jane average to jump, crazy or not. This seemed to dawn on Angelica, as she rolled the manhole over to her. Acting quickly, as she knew she wouldn't be able to lift the metal slab if it fell over, she grabbed it, turned it (hoping to dear bajebus that they didn't shoot the tips of her fingers off), crawling behind it as a shield.

There was a heart stopping when the first bullet hit the manhole. She jerked to a stop, took stock, realised the manhole was substantially thicker than she'd feared, and continued to the manhole. Once she was over, she jumped down into Angy's waiting hands, and they bolted. They didn't go straight home, as they couldn't from there. but they quickly became hidden in the underground labyrinth that was the Gotham sewer system, and waited a good hour or so before daring to surface anywhere _near _their home.

2 hours later, they made it.

2 bagels each, and they went to bed.

Bed consisted of the mattress from upstairs, which was a ridiculous size, on the living room floor, with both girls in it, huddled for heat, and weapons by their sides. Just encase.

The next few weeks went this way. They would don the outfits of Luto and Azul when they needed food, clothes, toiletries, anything and everything. It became a lot easier not they had weapons and terrifying costumes (to bystanders) to make people think twice about crossing them. There was after all, a massive difference to a security guard when the thief is a hoodie wearing teenage girl, and a woman in a villain costume with lots of sharp and pointy things. Yup. The latter the guard didn't tackle to the ground. The latter, he just wasn't paid enough for.

However, Jac was getting twitchy. They needed something more. _She_ needed something more. Right now they were petty thieves. But she needed to be a lot more if she was ever going to face her father again. Right now she didn't know _how_ she wanted to face him, but that she still did. Friend or foe, she had no idea.

"We need work." Jac declared, squatting on the bed and looking over The Gotham Times with a huff. There was plenty in there about the criminals who run ramped here, but no damn contact details for work! "The crime lords and ladies always have so many henchmen, but where the hell do they find them? Is there a secret recruiting centre, just for the villainous professions? Sign here here and here. Great, welcome to the Penguin's organisation. Pick up your lame outfit and umbrella gun on the way out and start at 12pm sharp! Now you're a _real_ criminal."

"We _are_ criminals!" Angelica dropped to her rump next to her and glanced over the paper. Apparently her mother had made sure she could read English, as well as speak it. "See, look!"

"Oh yeah, let's break out the champagne." Jac mocked, waving page 35 at the overzealous reptile. "We made page 35. We are officially a public nuisance, making lives of corner shops miserable."

"Well it's better than nothing."

"I know I know. It's just not fun. Not as fun as it was when I went out with Pam." She giggled, remembering the first time she'd jumped into that pink flower head, and tunnelled away from a crime.

"We have fun..." she seemed downhearted.

"Oh I don't mean I don't have fun _with you_. I do!" Jac put her hand on her shoulder and grinned comically, making a smile dawn on her friend's reptilian face. "I just think we are meant to be more than being a public nuisance on page 35."

"Si, I know." In truth Angelica would be happy keeping things as they were now, but she could see the hunger in her friend's eyes. Angelica was fiercely loyal to her. She was her one and only person in the world. And that had happened by accident. She wouldn't let anything happen to her. so she had to go with her, if only to protect her during her harebrained schemes. "So where is this secret evil recruitment centre?"

"No idea. We need to ask someone."

"Someone evil."

"Yeah...where do bad people meet up..."

"Prison?"

"Oh yeah, sure." Jac cackled and pushed her friend over onto her side with a playful shove. "Great idea Angel cakes. Let's go to prison." Angelica just laughed in that sibilant way that she does that reminds Jac she's carnivorous.

"What then?"

"We'll snoop around in the dark tonight. I'm sure we'll find a henchman to quiz."

"That sounds dangerous..."

"Yup. It'll be fun."

"...right..."

"Not them."

"Why not?"

Angy was getting testy. They'd been skulking and alleyways and going up and down fire escapes all evening. It was 1am and she was getting _cranky_. There were some perfectly good thugs, loading boxes from one van to another van. They wore balaclavas and everything. In Angy's book, balaclavas = criminal.

"I recognise the look."

"What look?" Angelica hissed, literally. They were perched on top of a 5 story building, so not massively high, but far enough away that it was hard to see details of what they were doing. They were also down the street a little... "They look scruffy and they are wearing masks. What more do you want?"

"They are all very butch, don't you think?"

"So?"

"Their veins are bulging through their muscles."

"_Azul_." She hissed, and got a chuckle for her trouble.

"They look like venom junkies. They're as likely to eat us than talk to us." Jac than flashed her accomplice an amused look. "No offence."

"Damn it. Why is it so hard to just find some bad guys?!"

"Because if we were easy to find, then Batman would have us locked up all the time."

"True." Both girls continued to watch the thugs for a while...before...

They snapped around in time to find a katana aimed at their necks. Each.

"Come on out with it then. Who the hell are you, and why are you looking for bad guys? Aww, have I caught a pair of budding vigilante's in the making?"

"No!" Jac snapped, frustrated that they'd been caught unawares. "We're budding _villains_ in the making."

"Si, we want to find work. But we don't know where." Angy added, looking to Jac for instructions.

The woman before them backed off, but by no means did they feel like the danger had passed. They were however able to get to their feet and face her.

Their attacker had dark orange flat boots, with matching gloves and flared leg sleeves strapped under her knees. The rest of her outfit was skin sight and dark navy. Her belt was orange with utility pouches, and her mask covered her neck, the back of her head, and the top half of her face. The right side of the mask was orange, and had an eyehole framed in black. The left side of the mask was dark navy, and there was no eyehole. The back of the mask had two strips of material from where the mask fastened, one side orange and the other navy. Her lips were a dark red and they were curved into an arrogant smirk.

"Are you..." Jac stepped forward, her eyes sparkling with glee. "Are you The Ravager? Deathstroke's daughter?"

"Yes. That is I. I'm on my way home from a hit. I was looking forward to killing some wannabe heroes." She huffed with a sigh and sheathed her duel katana.

"Could you tell us where to find work? Please?" The woman cocked her head to one side and folded her arms over her busty chest. She was beautiful. The tight costume showed off her every dip and curve.

"Ah. It said please." She snickered and looked over their heads, seeing the van of bane's thugs leave on their merry way. "If you wish to die that badly, then there is a place I can tell you of." The Ravager stalked them, seizing them up and sniggering to herself. "Can you even fight? Or have you just had fun with a sewing machine and thought that would be good enough?"

"Trust me." There was a dark tone to Jac's voice then. It sent a chill down Angy's spine. "I know the taste of blood."

"You I believe." Ravager pointed blatantly at the Joker's secret love child, and then moved onto Angelica. "You I don't. You have the smell of fear on you." Angy didn't help her tough guy act, by gulping then and taking a hold of Jac's arm.

"Luto." Jac snapped. "We are badass, remember? You freaking carnivorous for gawds sake!"

"R-right." She released the younger girl's arm. Ravager started giggling.

"If you want to die, then fine. You never know, you just might survive. Well, you won't." She added, waving her hand dismissively at the taller woman. "Would you like to come? They'll be starting soon."

"Really?! Great!" Jac grabbed Angy's arm. "After you."

It wasn't reassuring when the woman started laughing and bolted off the rooftop, to the next one. Apparently, she expected them to keep up.

Angry did that just fine.

Jac was scrambling from one roof to the next, slamming into the fire escape rather than the next roof on more than one occasion.

After 15 minutes of that mad dash, they walked casually down a set of stairs to the street level. Then into the back of a pub called the Hangman's mistress. Then down into the basement...

_Ah, maybe we shouldn't have blindly followed a beta villain into the darkness of a pub basement after all. _

Jac jolted to a stop, and Angy grabbed her wrist and felt as stiff as she did.

In the middle of the basement floor was a large cage...

Inside the cage two very burly men were beating the living hell out of each other. Blood and teeth flew everywhere, and the crowd around them jeered and cheered every time. there was a large chalk board at the back of the room, and the were clearly making bets on the winner.

"Listen up kids." Ravager turned and faced then with a grin. "In the audience are sublevel generals for most of the gangs in Gotham. Do well, and they'll offer you work. Or you'll die. Either way."

"_Azul_." Angy ground out, her grasp on Jac's wrist getting painful. "Can we _go_ now?"

"Oh, it's too late for that." Ravager fisted at Jac's shoulder and yanked her away from the safety of her reptilian bodyguard, and towards the throng of shady looking people. Before either of the girls could interject, the two warm up thugs were out of the ring, and in went Jaclyn Ester.

It took a moment for her to process what was happening.

She was in a cage, in the basement of a shady pub, with people jeering for her to get her head knocked off her shoulders.

Underneath her face mask her lips peeled over her teeth and she started teetering on the edge of glee. She turned to the cage door and watched as a thug of all proportions stepped into the 'ring'. He was over 6 foot tall, built like a house and regarded her like she was a bug to be squashed on. He didn't recognise the madness blossoming in her chaotic green orbs.

He should have.

He would soon.

"Hello princess." He snickered. He wore baggy jeans and a dirty wife beater. "I'll go easy on you little girl."

"Azul!" She snapped her eyes to one side and saw Luto gasping at the bars of the cage for dear life. Her big golden eyes had sharp black slits in them. _Well she's on edge._

"No problem! I'll be just a sec, k?"

He lashed out for her. She stood there and waited for his charge to meet her.

He did.

She pulled out a dagger and fluidly stuck it into his chest, and walked past him in one motion.

The thug fell onto his back, only the hilt of the dagger pointing up from his chest. The dirty white vest became stained red.

Jac stood looking down at her friend with sparks flying in her green orbs. The reptile had pulled her hands back from the bars and stared in shock at the body. It was only when she looked back to her intimidating partner that she moved.

Azul turned on her heels and went back to the body. She mounted his front and pulled the dagger out with a sickening wet noise. Slowly those crazy green eyes turned to the silent crowd. "Next?"

Ravager started chuckling in the background and pressed the button on a stereo. Out blasted fast club banging music. And amusing the master assassin further, Jac finished kicking the corpse to one side and started dancing to the music. "Come on! I'm just a little girl!"

"You're no little girl." One of the crowd jeered, clearly upset to have lost his bet.

"I'll have a whack at her."

A thug who clearly worked for Two-face stepped into the cage. He wore green combats, biker boots, a leather jacket, and a luchador mask which was half red and half black. He swung a metal bat around him casually, stalking her with a hungry look in his eyes. "If you go down and you're still breathin' at the end of the night, I'll be gentle with you later princess." His free hand grasped at his own groin, letter her know what he thought 'later' implied.

"Really, why do you think I'm a freaking princess?" This goon wasn't going to take her lightly like the last one. He came in armed, after all. She wiped the dagger against the mouth of her face in one spooky swipe, one side, then the other, then sheathed it. The thug took a subconscious step backwards, and gasped his bat harder. "Well? Come and get me motherfucker!" She didn't shout, but cackled, making the words almost lose their effect.

Ravager turned the music up, having a merry ol' time, and watched with a hawk like eye.

The thug charged and swung out with the bat. She exhaled and dropped to a squat so the weapon missed her. She pulled the two machete's from her hips and brought them up with her as she moved. Jac lifted to her feet once the bat cleared her head and stepped into the goon. As did her two blades in an X pattern.

He must have seen this coming however, as he mostly stepped back so the cuts she made were shallow. He still bled profusely, but was certainly not dead. One hand clutched at his gut where she'd managed to wound him, the other dropped the bat and pulled a gun from his jacket pocket.

_Oh shit! _

The blue clad diva dropped into a roll and then into a series of cartwheels. Luckily they were fast enough to avoid the bullets flying after her. they instead lodged between the bars and into the chests of the odd spectator.

_1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, right he's out!_ She jerked to a stop just before she reached Angelica, not risking bullets flying into her partner, and rounded on him. he apparently didn't realise he was out of slugs until the gun was pressed against the girl's chest. Jac stood there in front of him and watched as he pulled the trigger over and over again.

He knew what was coming next. He barely flinched as she brought both of her machete up from her sides and into his gut like before. This time however, they went all the way through his torso. "Am I still a princess?" she whispered to him as he choked on his own blood. He dropped the gun first and then landed on his knees. Jac lifted one of her feet and pressed it to his chest. She pushed him onto his back, dead, her blades sliding from him as he fell. Slowly she turned to look at the crowd of silent spectators, blood smeared over her mouth and dripping from her machetes. "Anymore?"

A single slow clap started from the back. Everyone turned to find the source, to see Ravager was mockingly applauding her.

"Well _done_ kid. Nice work!" The orange and navy woman put her hands on her hips and addressed the room. "She's got a partner too you know. Shall we have a look at her?" Jac had just been allowed to leave the cage and jerked after Angy when she was grabbed. "Ah ah ah, Azul." Ravager walked over to the cage door and looked them over. The taller of the girls she knew as Luto her arms pinned behind her by two of the pub's enforcers, and was half way shoved into the cage. Another enforcer had tried to stop 'Azul' from preventing this, and now had her fingers in his mouth, pulling it painfully open. "Don't you _want_ to get you both work? We've seen your skills, now we need to see hers." Ravager booted Angelica's black covered ass into the cage and slammed the door shut. Jac released the goon and made a jerky motion, like her instinct was to then throw herself at the woman, but thought better of it. "Good. Now, who will face the scaredy-cat?"

Angelica landed on her side and quickly crawled away from the door. It was Jac's turn to stand at the edge of the cage, and actually, she was distraught for her friend's safety. She grasped the bars and watched her friend panic.

"A-Azul?!"

"You can do it Luto!" Jac barked at her, feeling her arms shake with how tightly she held the bars.

"I-I can't do this!" she scampered over to Jac and took one of her hands desperately. "I can't fight!"  
"Yes you can!" She snapped, pointing sternly at her taller friend. "It's in your _blood_. Just like mine. You have to believe it."

"But-"

"What would _he_ do?" the jeering crowd melted away as their eyes met. "If he was here, right now, watching you." Jac gulped, giving away her secret. "What would he think if you?"

"He'd think I was pathetic." She whimpered, and they both looked to one side as the door opened. In walked another of Two-face's thugs, apparently wanting revenge for his friend.

"Well the fight hasn't started yet. Go and fight like your dad was watching. That's all _I_ do."

"Really? That's enough?" they shared another look.

"Well, yeah. And I like it." she giggled and pulled her hand out of her gasp. "Go and kicks some ass Luto. Don't think about it, just do it."

A foot collided with the taller woman, throwing her against the back set of bars. She landed with a wheeze and meekly looked up through her dreads at her assailant.

He almost as tall as he was wide, and he also had a base ball bat.

Adrenaline coursed through her veins, tearing through her senses until every inch of her buzzed with fear.

"Get up bitch." He sneered, the ground beneath her cowering form vibrating with every step he took towards her.

"Fight Luto!" Jac screamed at her, rattling the bars in desperation. "Fight!"

Angy whimpered and crawled along the floor, only to scream as she was dragged to her feet by her hair, and slammed her against the cage bars. The other thug sniggered at her, before bringing the baseball bat into her stomach.

Over and over again. "LUTO!" Jac scrambled around the cage to where her friend was being held. She climbed up the bars and grabbed her mask, before the crowd tore her away from her friend. Tore, as in leaving the crazy girl holding a big chuck of black mask. She then winced and looked to her middle finger, seeing she'd sliced it on something. "Fuck, what did I...?"

"The fuck is that all about?!" the thugs released the taller woman and pointed at her face with the bat. "What's wrong with her face?!"

"Nothing!" Jac cackled and pushed on her friend's legs through the bars, forcing her to stagger forwards. "But it's DINNER TIME!"

Angy's body had been slumped against the bars, but now she swayed from foot to foot like a zombie, raising her face up so the crowd could see what the thugs were terrified of.

Green scales, wide mouth, rows of sharp fangs. As she lifted her face up a low, vibrating growl silenced the room. No one noticed when Ravager turned the music off to listen to the noise harder, recognising it from somewhere...but they all felt the animalistic song deep in their chests, eliciting fear as their natural response to a predator's call.

"Dinner time." Jac sang and banged her fist dramatically against the bars three times. "Din-ner-time." again she beat the song into the bars. Angy rolled her shoulders and locked her amber eyes onto the nearest thug. "DIN-NER-TIME!"

She threw her arms out at her sides and roared, exposing her mouth full of teeth to the air, before releasing the coiled up power of her thighs and leaping forward. Stunned with fear the thug didn't get his bat up in time, and was dead before he hit the floor.

"Fuck! No!" the second thug pressed himself against the door, trying to force it open, but to no avail. He watched with fear and high pitched whimpers as the women he'd been beating with his bat moments ago gorged herself on the neck and chest of his partner. She pulled long pieces of flesh from his body and "Fuck." Swallowed them whole. "Let me out! let me out now! Let me-"

He felt her hot breath against his neck, and saw that everyone in the crowd were staring over his shoulder in feared silence. No one was cheering. No one was making bets. They were all watching. "P-please don't eat me, please don't-gunugh." Bloody talons descended from above his head like a black blur and hooked into the roof of his mouth. He choked on his profusely bleeding pallet as she dragged him backwards from his mouth, holding her wrist for dear life.

The room watched as the scared girl turned into a frenzied beast and dropped her remaining victim before her partner. Jac put her hands on her hips and grinned with insane glee.

"Well done Luto." She turned and started cackling to the room. "Put your hands in the air if you want her to kill him!"

No one moved. "No, seriously, put your hand up if you want to see her kill him?"

Slowly, reassured that _someone_ seemed to be in control of this creature and seeing money in their futures, thugs and crime lords alike started jeering and put their hands up into the air. "Well look at that." Jac put her hands on the bars and winked at her friend. "Bottoms up!"

Angy growled and pawed at his jacket, shoving him against the bars in front of her partner. "5, 4, 3, 2, 1!" Angry snarled again and brought her open mouth down around the thug's gurgling through and sank her teeth around his Adam's apple. The wet tearing noise she made, ragging her angled head from side to side, yanking on the struggling body until it went lank against the bars.

Then she released him.

The body fell in a bloody heap.

A good few inches of his trachea stayed in her mouth, dripping with blood down her front. "Luto!" Jac jumped up so her tip toes were on the edge of the ring and her hands on the bars held her up. "You were amazing! I don't know how anyone else would feel, but I'm freaking proud of you!"

The weeping flesh slid from her mouth and landed with a shuddering wet noise by her feet. "You know, I'm really hungry now. Fancy pizza? Maybe Chinese?"

"I..." She croaked and spat a chunk of skin out of her teeth. "I'd like something sweet please."

"How about sweet and sour prawns and ice cream?" Angy, nodded, wiping her mouth against her arm and walked towards the door. "Sounds good to me." Jac dropped to her feet and skipped over to the cage door, letting her slightly traumatised friend out of the cage. "I assume that anyone in the room that fancies hiring us will do so before we reach the door." She grinned, and looked to Ravager as she stood between the pair and their walk towards the door. Luto snarled and grabbed her smaller friend's shoulder protectively. She did not like this woman. "You want to give us a job?"

"No." The villainess chuckled and looked between the girls. "Although I can tell you two are the ones to watch in the future. And you." she nodded to the reptilian woman. "Have pleasantly surprised me. Your prospects of survival just went up massively. You two better get ready for a lot of pain and hard work, or you'll end up dead or being dragged off by the batman to prison." She then giggled and looked to Jac. "Or Arkham."

"Excuse me." Ravager side stepped and watched as she was practically shoved aside by a freaking Eskimo. "My employer, Mr Freeze has a heist coming up and I have been issued with a...considerable amount of freedom to hire some extra muscle for the job."

"Give me a number to call and I'll get back to you." Jac put her hands out and posed cutely. "I'll need dates, times and of course, _pay_. Oh, and it looks like we'll be given quite a few offers." She giggled, deliriously happy and beamed up at Luto. "We are _so_ going to get off page 35."

Angy watched as men from different factions banged elbows to get their attention and shoved their business cards at them both. Ravager vanished into the shadows and smirked to herself.

It actually took a deep snarl from Luto and 30 minutes to get out of the bar before they could taste the sweet freedom of fresh air.

"HA!" Jac cackled, cradling a small pile of business cards and scraps of paper to her chest like it was a new born. "We are going to be real villains in no time. Mr Freeze? The penguin? Scarecrow _and_ Two face? Not to mention the Falcone's. Oh...and then there is this one." She held up a playing card with the Joker on one side, and information on the other side in red crayon. "Erm..."

"No." Angy took the card and ripped it up.

"Oh...well that's that decision made then." She grumbled, but her friend was right. She wasn't ready to go anywhere _near_ the Joker again. Not yet. "So?"

"Chinese. Ice cream. Home."

"ok."

They stuck to the shadows and back alleys, using money shoved into their hands by one of their prospective new bosses, to actually buy food for once, not steal it. they walked through a drive through, not wanting to go into store in their villain costumes and dripping with blood.

Soon they were home, stripping out of their tattered costumes and heading for the shower. They washed each other's backs and helped to pull sticky bits of blood and flesh from each other's hair. Mainly Angelica's dreads.

Then they were wearing pink pj's, eating take out, and watching cable on a stolen TV. Like most normal teenage girls. Except for the stolen part...

"So Angy." Jac swallowed the lump of cherry ice cream in her mouth and looked to her friend. "Want to talk about it?"

"About what?" She stabbed her spoon into the carton and scooped more ice cream out for her inspection.

"Maybe the escalation from beating the shit out of people to eating parts of them? I mean I like it." She chuckled, ignoring the pissed off look over her reptilian features when she looked to her. "You _so_ kicked ass today. But I sense...you're not a happy camper?" Angy stabbed the spoon back into the tub.

"My mother would have been so ashamed if she saw me today." She hissed. "She raised me to be a good girl. She always accepted I would have to...fight and steal to survive. But I ate parts of a man today. And..." she closed her eyes in shame. "I liked it."

"It's in the blood." Jac shrugged and chomped through her melting dessert.

"I know." She pushed her carton aside and held her knees. "I hate my father. He...tried to have me aborted. He never wanted me. My mother fled to Spain to get away from him."

"About that." Jac took her carton and started digging in. She then licked the spoon and pointed to her with it. "Why did you come back?"

"Hmm?"

"Well, your mom ran away to the mother country in the sun and when she died...you came back to Gotham."

"Si. What is your point?" sad amber eyes locked onto sparkling green orbs.

"Well, I can only think of one reason why you'd come back here."

"It's easier to hide here. Momma said the sewer systems are-"

"Bull-shit." She sang and poked her arm with the spoon. "Despite how much your mom hated him, despite how much you hate him, you still want to know your dad. You know, that job with the Falcone's might get us close enough for you to meet Senor Croc." She waggled her blonde eyebrows at her. "If he'd been watching today, he'd be impressed."

"I imagine he'd also have a lot of questions." Angy laid back on the mattress in the living room and sighed with a sad smile. "Who are you and why do you look like me?"

"Oh, I have that one covered." Jac focused intently on her task of scooping up the rest of her ice cream.

"Oh? What explanation do you have that would explain our similar appearances and fighting styles?"

"Easy." The mini Joker put the empty carton down and laid next to her friend. "You were bitten by a radioactive alligator."

There was a heavy silence for a few seconds, before they both broke into hysterical laugher.

"A-a-r-radio-active! Ha! Who would believe that?!"

"I read it in a book somewhere."

"Are you nuts!?" green robs locked onto amber ones with a wide grin. "oh, of course, you are. Well, no, I don't think he'll believe that."

"Let him believe what he wants." The blue haired girl shrugged and snuggled into the bed. "He thinks he was successful with the evil force your mom into an abortion thing, right?"

"Si..."

"Then he won't think you're his. Simple as. I mean the Joker didn't even think for a second that I was his. All the evidence was there, but he didn't..." She turned onto her side and huffed. "I'm bored of this now. sleepy time."

"Ok. Goodnight Jac." They snuggled together for heat and sagged their aching bodies into the mattress, hoping they'd get to lay in the following morning to recover.


	14. Chapter 14

"Ok." Sparks of excitement jolted through her limbs, exciting her and causing the 16 year old to skip around their desolate little house like a child going to meet Santa for the first time. "So we are wearing our back up costumes."

"Si." Angy sat on the bed, dreading their first mission, but amused by her friend's behaviour. She had her legs crossed, already in her full black skin tight body suit and full mask. Only her eyes were on show, and there was now a zip across the mouth of her mask so she could use her jaws in battle without tearing her mask. She twirled a pair of knuckle dusters around her finger and watched her friend do her giddy dance.

"And we have eaten a while ago, and been to the bathroom, and have our weapons."

"Si, I have my knuckle dusters. You have changed your weapons 4 times."

"I can't decide." Jaclyn stood on the mattress with a jump, making the whole thing spring underneath them a little, but she kept her balance. She wore her blue outfit and had changed her mask so it came down to the ridge of her nose and exposed her mouth. She wore blue lipstick and brushed her teeth twice. "Machete? Or batons?"

"Azul." She got her game face on and walked over to the her friend. "Wear the machete pair on your hips, and the batons on your back. If you have both you will be happy."

"hmm...good plan Luto." She nodded, doing just that. "Oh, shall I put daggers in just my boots or my gloves too?"

"Both. Then let us leave before the heist starts without us."

"Right, sure, as long as you're ready." Angy blinked and shook her head as her marginally nuts friend armed herself to the teeth. "Ok, so it's a go then."

"Si Azul." The reptilian woman put her hands on the girl's shoulders and walked her out of the house and to the manhole. "Which of the jobs are we doing tonight?"

"Hmm? Oh." Jac cleared her throat and jumped down into the sewers. "We're going to a warehouse to help Poison Ivy steal some GM crops and replace them with some of her babies."

"What?!" Angy jumped down after her friend and her amber eyes looked so wide they might just fall out of her scaly head. "But-but-but you're trying to lay low! She will recognise you and-"

"Nope." Jac put her hands behind her head and walked casually in the direction of the Gotham docks.

"How will she _not_ recognise you?"

"I'm not going to talk."

"No really."

"No, really."

"What little faith you have in me." Jac looked to her side with her big green eyes when Angelica caught up with her. her arms were crossed over her chest and the mini croc clearly wasn't convinced. "Look, when we're around her I won't talk. When we're not, I'll talk. Listen, we're just going to be the look out at the door. That's it."

"And what will we do if batman turns up?" oh, the hands were on her scaly hips now. "Poison Ivy is a big time villain. He tends to turn up for people like that." her Spanish accent was strong when she was nervous and annoyed.

"Then we'll run."

"You-you make it sound so easy!" Angy held her face with one hand and grabbed Jac's shoulder with the other, dragging the girl down the right passage to get to the docks. "Fine, I've followed you so far. I'll follow you through this."

"Oh goodie."

The girls got there just in time for a fully recuperated and as beautiful ever Poison Ivy saunter out in front of a crowd of 10 male thugs. They all wore tracksuits or jeans and wife beaters, none belonging to a faction of any sort. They were just goons for higher. Just like Jac and Angy.

"Welcome children of the Earth. You are here to help me protect the wonderful planet from the evils of these synthetic monsters." She pointed to the warehouse behind the wire fence and put her hands on her hips. She wore her usual outfit of green boots, light green tights, darker green corset suit, with leaves covering it for effect. Her long red hair had little ivy leaves weaved into it and her lips and eyes were a deep green. She giggled and raised her arms up, vines tearing through the ground at her feet and pulling the fence apart like a curtain. "Those genetically modified crops will destroy the natural children of the Earth and even breed with them! This cannot be allowed. It's murder and rape!"

"When do we get paid!" one of the thugs shouted from the crowd.

"Once all the crates have been given an extra stow away." Ivy opened a cooler by her feet and lifted a pouch of what looked like cut cocaine. "These a very special and very aggressive seeds. No sniffing boys, or they'll germinate in the nice heat of your bellies and eat you a...live."

Ivy dropped the pouch into the box and power walked like model through the boys and to the back. She then looked over Luto and Azul and put her hands on her hips. "Who are you?" Jac AKA Azul elbowed Angy into action.

"We are two new villainesses on the scene and got offered the job by a thug in the-"

"You are here to work for me?" She giggled and seemed pleased with that. "You must understand, you two are not the usual kind of muscle I get. Normally all the men flock to me." She giggled and got close enough to lift their masked faces. "Oh, I bet you're pretty under there. Why don't you show me?" Luto purposefully started snarling and caused Ivy to take her gloved hands back. "Oh, well, pretty is as pretty does." She then looked to Azul, who only had her mouth exposed. She looked deep into those green eyes and for a moment...she could have thought that...

"I'm getting nervous." Luto took the nymph's attention. "It's late. I don't want to bump into batman."

"Oh, of course. Let's go ladies. You two can stay with me."

"Great." Luto grumbled and followed the redhead and her friend made a point of walking behind her. "I blame you for this." She hissed under her breath. Jac just shrugged at her and smirked. If anything it was just nice to see that Ivy had survived the beating the Joker gave her alright and went right back at it.

They ran down back alleys, looking up at the roof tops for any sign of the bat family. They got into the ware house and they all took white pouches to put into the crates. Azul grabbed Luto's hand and dragged the taller woman off towards the crates, as far from everyone else as possible.

Before they could speak however Ivy was on them, apparently finding the girls amusing. They nodded and got on with the task at hand, playing mental tennis with the experienced villainess.

"So you are called?"

"Luto. And she's Azul." Angy emptied one pouch into a crate, then easily lifted the lid of the next one, despite all the nails in it. Ivy nodded and smiled, immediately seeing what Angelica's skill was.

"And you are quite strong."

"You could say that." She darted her amber eyes over to Jac, who was busying herself in one of the other crates.

"So." Ivy looked around and made sure they were alone. "When were you going to tell me you were still alive?"

Both girls flinched and slowly turned to face the redhead, who was _not _amused. Their hands were in the cookie jar and this woman was primed to slam the lid into their fingers.

"How did you-" Jac flustered.

"No one has eyes like you sweet pea." She giggled and put her hand on her blue clad shoulder. "All crazy and cute at the same time. I took you in, I cared for you, and I damn well nearly died for you, the least you could do is give me enough credit to recognise you from your mischievous eyes and cheeky grin. Didn't I deserve at least a phone call? Or an encrypted note? Something?"

"I..." Jac sighed heavily and saw Angy smacking her forehead in the background. "Alright." She grabbed Ivy's wrists and pulled her into the corner of the warehouse to ensure their privacy, Angy on look out. "I'm supposed to be dead."

"Yes, we _all_ know. Joker when nuts when he found out."

"Found out I was dead?" she cocked her head to one side. "But he killed me."

"No, not that." Ivy hushed, looking around them again. "That you are...?"

"Oh, shit, he knows?!"

"Yes, and he is _pretty_ pissed off about it. But you are dead so that's that, right?" her gloved hands went onto her hips. "I take it this silent mask routine is to ensure you're not recognised? That's the only reason I haven't gone nuts at you and hugged you to death you little swine." She smiled regardless and winked at her. "Good girl, staying alive. How did you do that by the way? Harley said he drowned you?"

"Harley?" Jac sighed and waved Angy over. "This is Luto, she is my partner in crime, and the person who rescued me from the docks. Gave me cpr and everything."

"That makes you a friend of mine then, if you protected my little pea."

"Sure." Angy didn't like the idea of this dangerous woman feeling they were friends. Friends asked for favours. "We're best friends and I'll kill for her."

"Well, then you really are best friends. You know what they say after all." Ivy giggled behind one hand and swayed her hair to one side. "A friend will keep your secret. A best friend will help you burry the body."

"Yup, that's us." Jac chuckled nervously and cleared her throat. "I've been quite active since then. We've been training and kicking ass at petty crimes, but now we're working our way up. Left a few corpses at the cage fights in the underground and now you're our first gig."

"Oh sweetie, well done." She leaned forward like she was going to kiss her forehead, then stopped. "Well, we're nearly done. And no sigh of the-"

"Batman!"

One of the goons shouted from the other side of the ware house. Then they started scurrying towards that noise, mainly as the only door was that way.

"Quickly, my babies shall make a door." Ivy pulled some seeds from her bosom and planted them into some cracks in the floor. "Buy me some time."

"Oh, shit." Jac and Angy skidded into a defensive position, blocking Ivy as she pressed her hands over the seeds to make them grow. "Oh shit, here they come."

"Be strong girls, focus, I won't be long."

"Ok boss lady." Jac pulled her batons from her back and exhaled deeply. Luto unzipped her mouth and put on her knuckle dusters.

The male thugs were very quickly disposed of and tied up by the duo.

"So, you did need me."

"Did not."

"Sure you did. All these guys on your own? Don't think so. I'm just saying it's a good thing I came to visit when I did."

"Shut up Beast boy." Red Robin rubbed his temples as they walked through the warehouse, having put up with his 'rabbiting' all the way from the Titan's home base. Things had apparently been slow and Beast Boy had managed to twist his arm into letting him come to Gotham for a while. He was already regretting it. Because crime had boomed recently, Batman said it was good idea for him to pair up with Beast Boy whilst he went on patrol with Nightwing.

_Ha! No, it's just so you can finish your patrol earlier to get back encase Brenna calls._ He smiled to himself at that. It was still a shock that Bruce had a daughter, never mind a granddaughter. He was an uncle! Sweet.

"Listen." Robin put his hand out and stopped them in their tracks, listening.

The sound of a woman giggling made them look up at the crates around them. "Someone's up there."

"Didn't your intelligence say Poison Ivy was running this thing?"

Then they heard a deep growl. "Oh, she hasn't started taking steroids by any chance as she Robin?"

"Not recently." He held his white staff before him carefully and looked up into the shadows. "We're sitting ducks down here. Make sure you don't let them take you by-"

"oof." Robin whipped round to see the feet of his friend being yanked into the shadows.

"...surprise...shit." He got two steps towards his ambushed friend, when he was landed on.

"Good evening pretty birdie!" He heard an incessant giggling and then felt the cold steel of a baton against his neck. She held it at either end and dragged him backwards by the neck. "Pleased to meet-cha!" Robin threw a leg up to connect with her head, but she saw it coming and jumped back out of the way. "Well _that_ was rude!" He scrambled to his feet and rubbed his neck.

"You think _that_ was mean? How about nearly throttling me?"

"A love tap." She giggled, and he looked her over. She was...younger than most of the villains he went after. She wore something similar to Ravager actually. Boots, skin tight blue lycra body suit, utility belt, gloves and half mask. He could see she had cheeky green eyes and blue lips curved into a smirk. He clocked all her weapons though and knew better than to underestimate her. "Like what you see?"

"Those machete do look fun." He smirked, wondering if she'd use them or stick to the batons. "Don't use them on my account though."

"Ahh, I'm touched. Not many men notice the little things a gal does to look her best." Her southern twang wasn't strong, but was very cute.

And familiar.

"Come on then, what do you call yourself? All you odd balls have your own names and catch phrases, right?"

"Hmm, oh, Azul. It's Spanish for blue. My friend is called Luto. Spanish for black and mourning. Because!" she put her hands on her knees and blew him a kiss. "By the time we're through, you'll be black and blue!"

"Ah, how cute. Did you come up with that all by yourself?" He mocked her. She chuckled and pretended that an arrow had struck her chest.

"Oh birdie, I'm insulted. How _are _you going to make it up to me? Maybe...a kiss?"

"Nah thanks. I have a girl friend." _albeit a very absent one._

"Does she know you flirt with naughty girls at night in lycra?" Jac felt adrenaline coursing through her veins. This was exhilarating. She never thought she'd flit with the opposition, but here she was. This was fun! He wasn't bad on the eyes either. With all that black and red leather and the big cloak...mmmm. the baby blue eyes looking at her through the cowl was a turn on too.

"Funnily enough, no." Hey started walking in a circle like prowling tigers, content for the moment, but looking for the first sign of danger to pounce. "Our conversations don't usually involve my night job."

"OOoo, that sounds naughty. I'm you're night job." She giggled, especially when she saw he was blushing at her insinuation. She put her batons on her back and held her hands up. "I think we can be civilized about this, no?" he cocked his head to one side and slowly shortened his staff and clipped it back to his belt. this would either be a pleasant surprise, or bite him in the ass in no time.

_Beast boy's POV_

"Oof!" He was rolling, tangled up with another person into the shadows and banged into the far wall. He blinked and shook his head, trying to regain his foothold in reality. Once he did Gar pushed up onto his elbows and looked down at his body. There was woman on it. She was wearing a skin tight black lycra suit, and had _quite_ the figure. She was also sprawled over him, with her massive rack pressed into his chest, and her hips mounted on his. "Ahem." He cleared his throat and chuckled nervously as she started to come round. "Erm, are you ok?" Still quite out of it she simply sat up.

Straddling him. "Oh, erm, hello. I'm Beast Boy." He held a hand out for her and hoped she didn't notice the deep green blush on his cheeks.

"Huh?" She blinked down at him and then looked further down, down to where she was sat. "Oh! Lo siento, por favor perdóname!" she jumped to her feet and continued to apologise as he got to his feet as well.

"Nah, it's ok." He chuckled at her. He even put his hands out in a calming there-there fashion. "I'm not sure what you just said, but I'm not hurt or embarrassed or anything."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I switch to Spanish when I'm panicking." She chuckled nervously and pressed her hands to her stomach. "I apologised and asked for your forgiveness."

"Oh, well, aren't you polite." He chuckled and walked up to her. she then blinked and took a step backwards. "Erm, you ok?"

_Oh...he doesn't know I'm a villain._

"Si Señor, I'm fine." She gulped.

"Oh, well, good." He swung his arms by his sides and beamed a smile at her. "So I'm Beast Boy."

"Si, you said that already."

"Oh, right. I must have missed where you told me your name." He scratched the back of his head and chuckled again.

Angelica looked the man up and down. He looked to be in his early to mid twenties, had evergreen skin and had messy curtains of dark green hair. His eyes were brilliant green and the whites of his eyes were yellow. He wore black boots with silver toe caps and knee guards, a sleeveless black lycra battle suit with grey strips up the sides and a thick V of purple on his chest.

He was tall, he was rippling with muscles, and as he chuckled again she saw he had a pair of sharp fangs to boot. She didn't even realise that her body sank into a seductive pose, her hips angling to one side, one arm going behind her back and holding the elbow of the other one, pushing her breasts out and curving her head to one side.

"My name is Luto." She purred. Gar gulped as he looked at her. she was certainly one hot babe. And those amber eyes looked animalistic, like his. "Was it you who was growling earlier?" she flinched, getting close to losing her nerve.

"I am...a bit of a beast-erm-girl." She closed her eyes and started kicking herself mentally for that. How lame! He probably thought she wasn't even capable of-

"Oh, can you shape shift too?" He dropped to all fours and turned into a green Labrador. He then went into the begging position, then stood up in his human form again.

"Oh, no." She chuckled nervously. "I'm...I only have this form. It is...beast like."

"Oh." He didn't seem deterred and he walked right up to her. "Can I see?" he saw the zip over her mask was undone, and wondered if he'd get away with jumping on her and pulling it open to have a look. Nah, better not. _Knowing my luck she'll have razor sharp fangs in there!_

"Oh, well, you'd be afraid." She shook her head and wondered why she hadn't backed off yet. "Everyone fears me when they look at me. Pero, I'm green too."

"Really?!" he gestured a lot with his hands, making her giggle even more. "I'm green, well, which you can see, so I won't mind if you're green. I mean I've never met another green person before."

"Well..."

"Please?" he put his hands together and his eyes seemed to get bigger like a puppy's.

"My skin is...not skin." she took a step backwards and bumped into a wall of crates. He blushed, thinking about the skin under her lycra suit...

"Wh-erm-wha-what is your skin?" He had her trapped now against the crates. He was blushing madly now and couldn't believe his luck. Babes never got into skin related conversations with him.

He tried his luck with Raven, but she was far to angsty to try a relationship with him. Starfire wasn't interested, nor was he to be fair, and the only girls that liked him in his past either broke it off or ended up working for Slade...

"I have...s..." she gulped. "I am not sure I should tell you." she looked off to one side and saw that in the main hall Red Robin and Jac seemed to be dancing circles around each other. Not fighting though.

"Come on. I'm a hero you know. We're all nice and squishy and stuff. Or at least I am." His hand touched her arm and she snapped her amber eyes back to him. "Please Luto?"

"...scales."

"Really?" he blinked at her and grinned. "Cool. Can I see?"

"Oh, erm, I've only just met you and-"

"Oh, right of course." He nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. If he thought out it, he had just asked to take her clothes off. kind of. _Luto naked...hubahuba..._"Yeah, secret identities and all that. Well I get that." he then looked to her again with a blush. "So Luto, what brings you to this part of Gotham at this time of night?"

She flinched. Ah, he'd finally cottoned on had he?

"I'm here with a friend."

"A friend?" he cocked his head to one side and raised a brow. "Not...one of the thugs we just beat up, right?"

"No, none of them." She nodded and pawed at her neck, feeling very hot under the collar under his intense gaze. When did he start looking at her like that? Like he was trying to see inside of her head. "I'm sure we'll be leaving very soon."

"And why is _your friend_ in this warehouse? Full of bad guys?" she saw his fists clench over his chest.

"Well... oh to hell with this." She huffed and put her hands on her hips. "We are thugs too." Angy grumbled and braced herself for a fight. "I'm here to stop my one and only person in the whole wide world getting herself killed in her epic quest to either make her daddy proud, or kick his ass. _She_ doesn't even know which one yet. Esa chica que me maten a uno de estos días." She hissed under her breath.

"Oh maaaaaaaan!" Gar whined and threw his arms done by his sides. "Why? Why does every cute girl I meet work for the bad guys?!" he huffed and jerked when he heard her giggle.

"You think I'm cute?" she gulped and looked over to the main floor.

Ah, the fight was on. Robin and Jac were rolling around and wrestling for dominance on the floor. "You, you're only saying that to trick me." She turned and pointed at him, blanching when her finger touched his chest. He'd taken her moment of distraction to sneak up on her. she squealed and pressed herself back against the crates. She held her chest and stared at him.

What now?

Gar had geared himself up for the usual scrapping and ass kicking he usually both received and dealt when dealing with a beta to alpha criminal. But he looked at her and...couldn't bring himself to hit her.

"You...you look scared."

"N-no." He raised a brow at her stammer.

"You've never done this before have you?" he sighed and put his hands up in a none threatening way. "listen, if that's the case it's not too late to make the right decision. I can help you to-"

"HAAAA!" Jac skidded to a stop behind Beast boy and pelted him over the head with a baton before he could even turn round to look at her. He went down and cradled his head in pain, his world spinning from the blow to his noggin. "Come on you, time to go!"

"Si." She let Jac grab her hand and yank her away from the kind green boy and towards the back of the warehouse. "Where is Robin?"

"A little tied up and on fire." She cackled and only stopped once they had reached Ivy. "Well, time's up. Gotta go."

"Just in time." Poison Ivy hummed like a siren and was greeted by large thick vines tearing through the concrete floor and twisting together before her. When it finished, it looked like a mutated spider, make of vines, thorns and shaking yellow flowers. "Now precious, make mommy a door." It seemed to bow it's head to her and spat something highly toxic against the metal sheeting. As Ivy's creation make them an exit, Angy and Jac looked into the warehouse, watching as Beast boy did a dance on Robin's cloak, putting out the little fires Jac had _somehow_ made. He then shifted into a green fuzzy beaver and gnawed through the plastic ties around Robin's wrists and ankles. Just as he was free and the two young men stood, ready to charge at them, the plant spider finished its work and Ivy sat on its back. "Hurry!"

"Come on!" Jac jerked her friend back into action and followed the spider and the boss lady out to safety. The boys ran after them, but they were too late. They were all gone.

"So tell me again, why did you disarm yourself before a villain, get into a wrestling match, end up tied up, _and_ set on fire?"

"Well...I'm not entirely sure, but she was _some _piece of work!" Tim huffed, hating this part of his 'night job'. The debrief of the big guy and his bollocking when he made a mistake. They were in the batcave, both Robin and Beast boy sat on a swivel chair and being glared down at by Nightwing and Batman.

"Well they got away from both of you, made you look like bumbling idiots, did lord knows what in that warehouse and got away with one of the most notorious villains in Gotham. Did I _miss_ anything out?"

"Nope, that pretty much covers it." Gar chuckled nervously and bumped his shoulder with Robin's. "we got our assess handed to us by two pretty girls."

"Shut _up_ Beast boy!" Robin ground through his teeth, and sulked even more when he realised that Nightwing was laughing at him. "It wasn't like that."

"Sure it wasn't."

"Nightwing, you'll need to cancel your morning plans. You're coming with me to go check out the warehouse and figure out what _exactly_ Ivy and those two girls were up to." Batman stormed over to his tech wall and selected his favourite forensic kit. It was bulky, but he'd be able to collect whatever evidence he need to-

The phone rang next to the bat computer. Nightwing had already ushered the boys up the stairs to go and lick their wounds. When he turned he saw Batman do something he didn't even think the dark crusader was _capable_ of. He was flapping one hand in the air, snapping his head from side to side and looking for a pen? Paper?

"Uuuunh, Big guy?" he covered his bases, just encase it was a domestic call that had been wired downstairs.

"If course, no no I don't mind it's 2 in the morning, no not at all. I just got in from a late party. No I can talk." Bruce lowered to his main chair and checked his perimeter. He then waved at Nightwing to take his forensics kit and go in his place. He then pulled off his cowl and cloak, making it very clear he was going _nowhere_. "I'm really glad you called Brenna." Dick halted in his walk to the Batmobile, and looked back to Bruce. Oh now he wanted to stay and find out what they talked about. One stern look from Bruce told him that was _not_ an option. He sighed and left to go and clean up Tim and Gar's darn mess.

Bruce was grinning from ear to ear. She called! She finally called! So late and so out of the blue it didn't matter. "No, I'm not busy tomorrow. Would you like to...dinner? Yes of course. Where ever you want to go. Is 12 ok? If you don't mind where we go then I could always pick you up and take you out somewhere nice. Great. Will that be a reservation for three or...no no two is fine." He tried his best to hide his disappointment at that, though he understood. If she wasn't sure about if he was really trustworthy or not, why would she bring her daughter into it? No, she would when she was ready. "Ok, I'll pick you up and 2 tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it Brenna. Goodnight."

"How do I look?"

"Perfect Master Wayne." Alfred chuckled and finished fastening Bruce's tie into place. "You look very smart."

"What if I'm overdressed?" Bruce looked down at his thousand dollar black suit and tie, with his shiny Armani shoes and Hugo Boss watch.

"Sir, you reserved a table in the Gotham Emporium. You are dressed appropriately."

"But what if I get there and she's expecting something normal, like brunch in a cafe, not a matinee performance of Mama Mia, in one of Gotham's finest dinner shows restaurants?" Bruce gulped and ran a hand back through his short black hair. "Maybe I should cancel? I have time to cancel the tickets and get-"

"No Master Wayne." The billionaire looked desperately into his mentor's eyes. "You need to stop worrying. You will be fine. You are your father's son, and a good man."  
"But-"

"Now." He walked around to Bruce's back and slid a long black coat up his arms and onto his shoulders expertly. "Do you have the roses?"

"Yes." Bruce nodded to the side table. "A dozen pink roses. Wait, should I have gotten two dozen? What if she's allergic to roses? What if-"

"Master Wayne." Alfred picked up the bunch of flowers, tied with lovely silver paper, and handed them to his nervous crime fighter. "Breathe sir, it's time to go."


	15. Chapter 15

"What if this is too much?" Brenna looked at herself in the mirror and sighed. She wore deep grey pumps underneath a long grey dress. It was an over the shoulder dress with a crinkled fabric look to it. It was fitted to her waist by a thick grey sash that had little black gems in the shape of a rose and tied at her back in a modest bow. "I look like a dull bridesmaid, right?"

"You look pretty mommy."

"You do Brenna." She sighed and chuckled at her daughter and best friend. "What? You _do_."

"Joana, are you sure you don't mind watching Emma? I know it's short notice but-"

"It's fine, seriously." Joana was a lifelong friend growing up, and they only parted ways at university when Brenna became a primary school teacher and Joana became a secretary at Wayne Industries. Yeah, how ironic is that? She had curly brown hair and bright brown eyes to go with a fun smile and wonderful heart. At the low times in her life, Joana had been there for her. The only person who was there for her. "You need to meet 'him'. Properly this time."

"I know." Brenna huffed and looked down at her daughter. She was playing happily with a stuffed robin and having an in-depth conversation with it. "Ok, call me if you need me. No matter what."

"Yes Brenna."

"I mean it, I-"

"I know you do." The door well went, and panic streaked across Brenna's face. "Hay Emma, let's go play in your room, ok?"

"Alright Auntie JoJo." Brenna exhaled deeply and kissed her daughter's head as she skipped past her. "Mommy wont be long."

"She better be." Joana grabbed her shoulders and started marching her into the kitchen. "Off you go."

"But!" She turned and saw the retreating figures of her daughter and best friend disappear behind the door to the hallway. She was stood alone in the kitchen, and facing the silhouette of her father behind the door. "Ok Brenna. You can do this. You want to do this. You _will_ do this." She rolled up a pair of imaginary sleeves and smoothed her fingers over her ebony locks once more. She ignored the will to go and change her hair and pin it up, again, as it was literally too late to turn back now. Like an old bandaid she whipped the door straight open and kept her face blank as she looked at him. Their steely eyes met, and the air between them was very tense.

"Good afternoon Brenna." Bruce tried hard to break the ice with a smile. "I have roses." He offered them to her, and watched her look at them and raise a brow. "Oh, I mean for _you_. They're for you."

"Oh." She chuckled nervously and held her breath as she took them off him. "I'll just put them in a vase." She side stepped out of his line of sight, and shoved them in the kitchen bin. _They will send my and Emma's allergies nuts! Memo to self, inform Bruce of our hayfever at some point._ "Right, off we go then." She stepped out of the flat and was glad to see he was wearing a suit. She wasn't overdressed then. The thought of having lunch anywhere with Bruce Wayne made her think a smart outfit would be required. Good thing she hadn't put on a pair of comfy pants and a jumper then! "So, would you like to car pool or...ah...limo...right..." She spied Alfred through an open window in the Wayne Limo and put a brave smile on. she was excited and terrified at the same time. last night she couldn't sleep through thinking about the promise she'd made Dick and dialled the number off his business card before she'd realised the time. thank goodness he'd been out late at a party. Waking up your long lost father for a reunion after an argument, at 2am, was not the best way to get the ball rolling.

"Here, let me." He opened the passenger door for her and waited like a gentleman.

"Erm, thanks." She flashed a grateful smile and slipped inside. Bruce noticed a good section of her dress overhanging the doorway and cautiously tucked it into the car. She noticed this, winced and helped pull her skirt into the car. "Oh God, thanks."

"It's fine. I've done it with my ca-coat many times." _I almost said cape. Damn._ "Just a second." Bruce closed the door for her and walked around the back of the limo to his side. He looked up and exhaled deeply before opening the door and joining her. Alfred pulled away from the curb and for a good ten minutes no one spoke. Both of the Wayne descendants stared out of their respective windows and were very tense. Bruce felt Alfred's gauze on him through the rear-view mirror and once he affirmed that, he steeled himself and turned to his daughter. "You look very nice tonight Brenna."

"Oh, thanks." She shrugged. "I thought lunch with you might call for it."

"In hindsight I should have asked you what kind of place you'd like to have lunch and agreed a dress code. I was worried I'd be over dressed for you." _oh-dear-god. Did I really just say that?_ "That's not what I meant-I just."

"I thought I was going to be overdressed." She chuckled, sending warm flutters through his chest. "I thought better safe than sorry, right?"

"Right." He chuckled and decided that it was a good sign if she was smiling.

"Can I ask where we're going?"

"Oh, of course. I got us a table at the Gotham emporium."

"What?!" Brenna looked down her dress and then back to him with alarm. "But that's _stupidly_ expensive? I'm not dressed for that." she gulped. "I-erm-can't _afford-_"

"You don't have to Brenna." Bruce waved his hands at her. "This is my treat, remember? Mama Mia is showing at the moment and I noticed you put on your facebook page how you always wanted to go see it. so I thought-"

"Hang on." Brenna crossed one leg over the other and folded her arms over her dress. Her steely eyes narrowed onto Bruce and a shapely brow raised. "You read my facebook page? You've been stalking me?"

"No, not stalking. Just...learning what I can about you. Speaking of which, you should really change your security settings." He started to lecture her, despite the icy look he was getting. "I typed in your name and your page came straight up. Anyone could have fond your information if they wanted to. And those university albums are very-"

"Stop." She put her hands up and closed her eyes. a few deep breaths and she opened them again. "I'll change my settings when I get home."

"I'm sorry Brenna, I was just-"

"Snooping and now lecturing me. Geez, five minutes in the car and you're acting like you're my father."

Silence.

Brenna hadn't thought before she said that. She saw the hurt look on his face before he turned to look out of the window. She felt immediately guilty and couldn't let that lie. "Mr Wayne, I didn't mean that. I forgot myself and I'm, well, quite sharp with my tongue sometimes."

"...you get that from me." He turned to face her with a sad smile. "Please don't call me Mr Wayne."

"I-"

"I'm not asking you to call me dad. But Bruce would be nice." His smile was raw and honest, so different to the man she'd met before. Now she felt worse.

"Alright Bruce." She shuffled in her seat to look at him better and held her hands together on her lap. "I am sorry."

"I'm also sorry." Bruce turned to face her as well and took a hold of her hands. "I pride myself on being informed, and I didn't know I had a daughter. I swear if I'd have known you'd have lived a very different life. One where I'd have been a father to you."

Damn, it was becoming harder to dislike this man. "I'd have done the right thing by your mother and-"

"Yeah, sure you would have. Until her drug habit started." She scoffed and had a very sour look in her eyes. Brenna took her hands back and stared into the back of the chair. "I spent years wishing for a different life. Then I got Emma, and now I wouldn't change a thing that happened to me." She sighed and turned to look at him with a sad smile. "I don't wish my mother on anyone. She deserved to go the way she did, and one day I hope I'll forgive her for it."

"I..." Bruce tightened his fists on his lap. "I should have been there for you. I would have gotten custody of you and-"

"Like is said." She chuckled sadly. "The life I lived gave me Emma. There isn't any point looking back. Onwards and upwards. Bruce."

"You're very wise for your age, aren't you?" he chuckled and placed his hand palm up on the seat between them. "Thank you for giving me a second chance. I won't let you down. Never again." He panicked. She turned suddenly in her chair and faced the window. "...Brenna?" her hands went up to her face and her shoulders started shaking. "Brenna." He shoved himself across into the next seat and grabbed her shoulders. She turned and held her mouth as she sobbed.

"I really hope you mean that, because I've spent my whole life wanting to know my dad." Brenna sagged into his tight embrace and cried into his neck. Alfred pulled the limo over to one side and parked, not wanting them to arrive in this state encase the press where waiting for them. He then pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed his eyes. He watched as his beloved charge held his daughter so tightly, like he was promising her with that act alone that he would never let her go. "I'm sorry." She tried to pull back, but he resisted her escape at first. When she pushed against his chest and saw his watery blue eyes she sobbed again. "Oh now we look like a bunch of weeping girls." Bruce laughed at her blunt humour and smoothed his hands over her cheeks.

He remembered the day where he took the Joker back to the Asylum, where he wept about killing his daughter without knowing it. it made him want to hold onto Brenna even more. "Bruce?"

"Yes Brenna?" He pulled a clean hanky from the perfectly triangular position it had been in, in his top jacket pocket, and dried her face with it. it was then he noticed she hadn't put on any makeup. Luckily, that is.

"I'm looking forward to seeing Mama Mia." She smiled brightly and sniffled.

"I'm looking forward to everything." Bruce winked at her and wiped his own face. "Ahem." He cleared his throat. "You can continue driving now Alfred."

"Very good sir. And may I say how wonderful it is to have you join the family Miss Wayne." Brenna mumbled her thanks and looked to Bruce. He caught the look and shuffled in his chair to look at Alfred through the mirror.

"It's still early days yet Alfred. Please refer to Brenna by her given name, or Miss Jones." Alfred nodded and returned his attention to the road. _I am __not__ calling Brenna Miss Jones. She's a Wayne. _

They finally arrived at the emporium and Brenna was caught well out of her comfort zone. Bruce had gotten out of his side of the car first, then opened her door to the sight of flashing lights. She squinted a few times, hoping the lights would disappear, but no, they did not.

"Brenna, we need to get inside." Bruce grabbed her wrist and helped her out of the car. She stumbled on her feet and into Bruce's arms. The flashing lights intensified at this, and Brenna clung to her father's arm as he led them into the building. "Sorry about that Brenna. I can't really go anywhere in this town without being followed."

"I understand." She nodded and was just glad to be away from the cameras. Brenna looked around and saw that most of high society were here, celebrities and corporate business owners too. She saw some of the looks she was getting from them and felt very plain in their presence. She was really happy when they were escorted to their seats and she could ignore everyone and look at the menu.

_Oh you have __got__ to be kidding me. It's in French! I can't read French!_

Brenna licked her lips in thought as she stared at the menu on the table, and flashed her eyes up at Bruce. He had spoken very suavely to the waitress and ordered a bottle of...something. He ordered it in French. _I wish I'd paid attention at school when I was in French classes now._ Brenna could even see the arrogant face of her French teacher, Mr Bouve. Yeah, he'd find this funny. She looked to the menu again and tried to see any words that she recognised or at least looked like the English equivalent...but no. Nothing. Long French sentences of nothing. "Ok. Bruce?"

"Yes Brenna?" he looked up from his menu with a smile. He looked so at home here, in the luxurious hall of red carpets, golden walls and tables, and with the grand stage behind him...and she was so out of her depth here.

"I...can't read this." She chuckled nervously and pushed the menu over the small round table over to him. "Sorry."

"Oh, lord, I forgot it's in French. I'm sorry Brenna."

"No worries." She felt so embarrassed! How unsophisticated did she look! "I'll let you do the ordering if that's alright." Bruce exhaled painfully and leaned over the table.

"You're going to learn that I'm adept at putting my shoe in my mouth. I'm so used to coming to this place with my board members I don't even think about the fact that the menu's in French. Sorry."

"It's fine. Really." She put a smile on as the waitress came back and poured them both a glass of champagne. _Damn Bruce is pulling out all the stops isn't he? Or is he used to champagne like it's water? He is rich. Damn, one glass of this I might fall off my chair. don't ask how much it is. Knowing will make it worse. _

"Qu'est-ce que vous voulez commander Monsieur? Madame?" Brenna stared blankly at Bruce and even shrugged.

"Un moment s'il vous plait." Bruce smiled to the pretty blonde waitress and looked to Brenna. "What would you like me to order you?"

"I don't mind. I'm not a vegetarian and I'll eat anything. Don't really have allergies, other than hayfever." She chuckled, then realised what she'd said when he held his forehead for a moment. Brenna held her head as well, and the waitress just looked between the two of them like they were equally odd.

"Pouvons-nous avoir les spéciales s'il vous plaît?"

"Oui monsieur." She walked off, giving Brenna a disgusted look as she passed her, and ruffling the woman's feathers.

"What a bitch." Brenna said under her breath. She'd clearly thought Brenna was Bruce Wayne's date, and didn't deem her 'good enough'.

"Hmm?"

"Oh, nothing." She chuckled nervously and waved it off. "What am I eating?"

"Oh, the house special is very good. The starter is a Steak Tartar, seasoned with parsley and topped with caviar. The main is peppered venison with spiced pears and the dessert is a Vanilla Panna Cotta with poached almonds and rhubarb."

"Oh dear lord." She gulped. "That sounds very fancy. And expensive." She reached for the champagne and sipped it. The flavour was strong, but sweet, and filled with bubbles. "Like the champagne."

"I hope it's not too over the top." Bruce was already kicking himself over the hayfever comment. Those roses he got her were the worst present _ever_. He didn't want her to feel uncomfortable with his lifestyle too. he thought this was pretty tame actually. They were relatively alone here, unlike at the main restaurants and bars in the city, where they'd be pounced on by paparazzi and high society alike. "I guess I just wanted you to really enjoy being with me." He looked down into his glass of champagne and was so worried she wasn't enjoying herself.

"Well, can I make a few suggestions?" Bruce looked up and nodded eagerly. "Can I scoot over there? talking over the table like this doesn't keep the conversation private."

"Of course." Brenna got out of her chair, moved it next to him and moved her place setting as well. Once she was sat in her chair and sighed with the relief of it, she turned to face him and smiled. This made him smile to.

"We have a lot to learn and a long way to go, but if you can put up with the fact that I can't speak or read French to save my life, or know which of the _many_ forks to use first, then I'm sure I'll be fine with the odd looks and consumption of fish eggs and deer, a meal that is more expensive than my apartment and car combined." She giggled and clinked her glass with his, making him really and truly smile back at her. "Deal?"

"Deal." He lifted his glass to his lips and drank to that toast. "So what should we talk about whilst the French chefs prepare the fish eggs and deer?"

"I...kinda have a few questions lined up. If you don't mind?" Bruce chuckled and ran a hand back through his short black hair. The gel was holding it in place, mostly.

"Go ahead."

"I know you and mum were a fling, so I'm not going to ask anything about her. I want to know about you." Brenna leaned forward and leaned on her elbows on the table. "I've done my reading about you too. I know how you became orphaned-" Pain flashed in his eyes. "-and how you came to adopt Dick and Tim, and I've even met Dick. So I know the family history. But what about the man? What are your hobbies? What's your favourite movie? Do you have someone special that might one day be my kind of mom or-"

"One at a time." he chuckled at her inquisitive zealous. Something she also got from him. "My hobbies?" _crime fighting._ "Spending time with my family." _Whilst fighting crime._ "My favourite movie? I don't really have one, but I enjoy a good detective novel. I also enjoy keeping fit. And no, there isn't a woman in my life." _other than the criminal women that keep popping up in my way._ "You?"

"Ok." Brenna chuckled. "My hobbies are usually centred around Emma. Going to the park. Finger painting. Removing paint from my walls..." Bruce chuckled and held her hand on the table. A gesture both of them smiled at. This was nice. Brenna was...really enjoying this. "My favourite food is usually something I haven't had to cook."

"A woman after my own heart."

"Really?" she kept the hand he was holding where it was, and used the other to tuck her hair behind her ears. "I...I think I might look like you." she was blushing now, hoping she didn't sound too soppy. "With the hair and the eyes I mean."

"You do." He gave her hand a squeeze. "Dick described you as a she-Bruce. Apparently you give as good as you get too. Just like me."

"He thinks I act like you?" she put her hand onto of his and smiled down at it. "That's a relief. I'm nothing like my mother."

"Is Emma..." Brenna flashed her eyes up at him. "Erm, the soup should be here soon." He cleared his throat. _How could I be so stupid. Emma is a touchy subject for her, and we were just talking. Really talking. She-_

"Would you like to see a picture of her?"

"...can I?" his voice was so raw, with so much pain hanging in the air, she couldn't resist. It seemed that Bruce had a very honourable and honest quality about him, when you got to know him. "Yes, yes please I would very much."

"Ok." Brenna giggled and opened her fluffy silver purse. She pulled out a small touch phone and tapped on the screen a few times. "This is the folder I keep of the pictures of Emma. Most of them are recent, but a couple are older." She handed him the phone and he seemed to become transfixed by the images.

"She...looks like a Wayne too." she was so beautiful. "I bet you looked like this when you were..." He swallowed hard and sipped some champagne.

"I...I didn't mean to upset you Bruce." Brenna reached for the phone, but he moved it out of her way.

"No, you haven't." He cleared his throat and slowly passed through the images. There were ones of Emma in various princess dresses, and ones where she was on a slide or swing in the park. As he kept going the pictures of Emma got younger and younger, to the point where Brenna was holding her up by her waist as a toddler in a pink onesie tried to take her first steps. "She's so beautiful. You raised her alone?"

"Yeah. after I got pregnant the deadbeat boyfriend I had at the time ran off. he was on his way to becoming a lawyer, and his dad who was a lawyer made me sign a contract saying that I would never seek him out for child support and he would have no expectations or connections to the child. Arsehole."

"I would have helped you." Bruce turned and looked at her longingly.

"I don't want to get upset about things I can't change." Brenna put her hand on his shoulder and nodded with a smile to the phone. "You finished?"

"No." He touched the screen again and could have cried. It was Brenna, in a hospital bed, hair matted to her head, her face blotchy, but glowing with exhaustion and joy. She was holding a tiny bundle of white cotton blankets with a podgy pink face poking out of the top. "Is this..."

"Oh, I didn't realise I still had that on there. Yeah. 16 hours of labour later and all Joana wanted to do was take a picture of me." Brenna chuckled and ran her hand back through her ebony locks. "She's my best friend by the way. The only person I talked to about tracking you down and meeting you." She smiled and reached for the phone. "I can...if you want...give you some print out-"

"Yes. Please." Bruce handed it back over and at that moment the waitress returned with the starters. She put them in their places and looked down at Brenna with a tug of her lips. she was clearly not impressed that Brenna had moved herself closer to Bruce, and once again gave her the mental label of 'slut'. It really sent furious sparks down the back of her neck. "I know Alfred will want to put them up all over the mansion."

"Oh yeah, you live in a mansion." She pointed to the armoury and forks and waited for Bruce to point to the one she was to use. "How's that like?"

"Wayne Manner is my home. I was born and raised there, as was my father. As I raised by boys." He chuckled and noticed how she'd sighed at that. "And I'm not saying anytime soon, or with any expectations from me, but if you ever wanted to move into Wayne Manner, I'd love to raise you and Emma there."

"Last time I checked I'm all grown up. Have a job and a kid and everything?" she poked fun at him with a smirk, making him chuckle.

"Alright smart ass." He finished chewing his steak and smiled at her. "You know what I meant."

"Smart ass? From Master Wayne? Now I feel like we have things in common."

"Very funny."

They ate their food happily and soon the musical started. Their seats were in prime position to watch the show, and Brenna couldn't stop smiling all night. this had gone so well. She had gotten to know her father just a little bit more than she was hoping she would, and it felt so natural. He may be Bruce Wayne, but he was an honest man too. He also made as many clumsy mistakes as she did.

Once the show was over and it was time to leave Bruce held his arm out for her, and she took it without hesitation.

"I've had a really good time tonight Bruce."

"So have I. Let's do this again soon." He held her hand on his arm and was sad that the evening was ending. As they left the front doors he leaned in to her ear. "You know, the night doesn't have to end here. We could swing past your place and pick up E-"

For the second time that night Brenna's vision became bombarded with flash photography, and this time their path to the limo was blocked with reporters.

"Mr Wayne! Mr Wayne, who's your lovely young date? She looks about half your age. What kind of message do you think you're giving young men and women by-"

"Mr Wayne, Gotham gazette here. When will the billionaire playboy of Gotham settle down and marry to raise a family?"

"Mr Wayne, over here Mr Wayne! Here pretty lady, let's take a picture of your hot date!"

Brenna couldn't stand it. between the dirty looks the waitress gave her, the awful pictures the press had no doubt taken before and now after she left the restaurant, and now these slanderous questions, she lost her temper.

"I am NOT Mr Wayne's date!" She walked forward, only to bump into a reporter. Batman was starting to rear his head, seeing how distressed Brenna was getting, and he squared up to the journalists preventing her escape to the limo.

"Who are you then Miss? What possible interest could Mr Wayne have with a young woman if it doesn't involve taking her back to-"

"I'M HIS DAUGHTER!"

You could have heard a pin drop. For a moment, all the camera's were lowered from their owner's faces and finally the flashing stopped long enough for Brenna to see. Bruce had come to her side and looked down at her with shock.

"You...just told _the world_...that-"

"Yes." _shit shit shit shit._ "Yes I did." She put her hands on her hips and glowered at the press. "I am Bruce Wayne's daughter, now please stop making accusations about something as innocent as a father and daughter going out for a meal. You should all be ashamed of yourselves." She then turned on her heels and whispered with a squeak to her father. "Help."

"Quick, while they're stunned." Bruce grabbed her hand and acted as a battering ram (not really, they moved out of his way) through the paparazzi. By the time they had rebooted and started taking snaps of them again they were inside the limo. "Quick Alfred! Get us out of here."

"Yes Master Wayne."

"Shit." Brenna held her head and shook it slowly from side to side. What had she done? "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Brenna-"

"You should have _seen_ the looks that waitress was giving me. And all those other customers! And then they were being so crude I lost my temper and-"

"I'm proud to be your father Brenna." She released her head and looked up at him with wide blue eyes. his honest smile was back , and he took her hands in his. "I would have waited until we'd discussed it and I knew it's what you wanted, but you've told the world now. There's no running from it now. You're a Wayne."

"You told the press?" Alfred chimed up from the front, sounding _very_ happy about it. "Wonderful. Shall I contact the registry office to get your name changed to your birthright? Brenna Wayne. Emma Wayne. Sounds just wonderful if you ask me."

"Don't get ahead of yourself Alfred." Bruce could sense the panic in her mind growing just from the look in her eyes. "There's no need for that. I'll love you no matter what your name is." He chuckled. She slowly lifted her eyes to look at him and she stared at him hard, thinking deeply into his eyes.

"I've done it now. But...I'm not sure I'm...sorry about it. All my life I've wanted to find you. when I finally did and I found out who you were, I was too scared to act on it for 2 years. Tonight was just one night...but I _feel_ like your daughter."

"I'm glad about that. but you don't have to-"

"No, no I need to explain. Emma makes me happy, but happy as a mother. I've never been happy as a child before. Tonight I did. I've never been happier in my life." She pursed her lips and sniffled. "I couldn't care less that you took me to a fancy restaurant with a show. I'd have been this happy if we'd gone to a burger barn or a picnic." Alfred started blinking back tears again in the front. "I do wish I'd have been braver and found you sooner. But I don't want to miss out on you any more out of fear. So yeah, it's not according to my well planned series of events in getting to know you, but yeah, I'm your daughter. I _want_ to be your daughter." Bruce held her face and kissed her forehead. He pulled her in for a hug and held her tight. "Is that ok?" she whimpered.

"I'm just sorry for how I treated you when we first met. I'm sorry for not being there when you were alone. But I can be there for you now."

"Sir." Alfred kept his voice steady, pulling the limo up outside of the building of apartments. "The press are already here."

"Shit." Brenna sat back and smacked her head. "How did they-Emma!"

"You're a long lost heir to the Wayne legacy. You're going to be hot news for a _very_ long time. You can't stay in this apartment and keep your privacy." She sagged against the car seat, looking out from across the street at her surrounded building complex.

"Poor Emma. How can I take her to the park now?"

"You could..." Bruce cleared his throat and tentatively put a hand on her shoulder. "...Wayne Manner is private property and fenced off."

"You're asking us to move in?"

"Well, only if you want to." Bruce gulped, being as brave as he could without tapping into Batman. Batman would just tell her it was happening, after all. "For as long as you want to."

"Perhaps until alternative accommodation can be organised for you and your daughter?" Alfred offered, backing Bruce up.

"Ok. Ok." Brenna brought her fist down into her other hand and nodded. "I need to go in there, pack a suitcase full of things for Emma and me, and run back out here, without them getting pictures of Emma...how-" Bruce got out of the car and stormed over to her apartment. "What?! Bruce!?" She pulled on the door handle, but it was locked. "Alfred! The door's locked."

"Yes Mam."

"But-"

"Master Bruce will be back very soon Mam." Brenna pressed her hands against the tinted glass and floundered, unsure what to do. She didn't have to wait long. Joana came out of the door with a suitcase packed to the brim and dragging it on a pair of wheels over to the limo. Alfred got out of the car and helped her put it into the book. Then Bruce emerged from the house with his long coat completely covering Emma over his front. He got through the crowd of reporters and the limo door clicked open once Bruce was near it. she didn't have time to wonder how the hell that worked. Brenna was too busy opening the door and reaching for her daughter.

"Mommy!" Emma turned and reached for her mother as Bruce handed her over. She squatted on her mother's lap and held her tightly around her neck. "Mommy, the strange man tried to steal me."

"No sweetie. This isn't a strange man." Bruce was sat next to her and the limo was pulling away; destination Wayne Manner. "Emma, honey bee." Brenna cooed, stroking her daughter's brown bob. "This is Bruce Wayne. He...is mommy's daddy. He's your grandfather." Emma snapped her bright blue eyes up to stare at Bruce with a girlish grin.

"I have a grandpa?"

"Yes sweetie." Bruce clutched his chest with one hand and held Emma's face with the other hand.

"Hi. You can call me B-"

"Grandpa." She nodded. Emma then turned to blow a raspberry in his hand. "haha, got you!" giggled, then trailed off into a yawn. "I'm in my nightie mummy. Auntie Jojo was putting me to bed."

"Oh, you can sleep now sweetheart."

"Ok mommy." The child sagged against her mother and flipped a switch in her head, going straight to sleep.

"She is beautiful." Bruce whispered. "Thank you."

"Yeah, well, I don't usually half do anything. Neither does Emma. She's as stubborn as I am."

"Another Wayne trait." He chuckled and looked ahead to a very bright future. Finally, some happy news to bring back to Wayne Manner.


	16. Chapter 16

"This is a ridiculous amount of money."

"I know!" Jaclyn and Angelica were laid on their backs on the mattress in their dingy little living room and were making snow angels in a ridiculous pile of 100 dollar bills. "I can't believe our luck! Ivy doesn't have any real need for money past paying for supplies for her plants." Jac wriggled with glee. "With all the other thugs knocked out and arrested, she gave us all their pay!"

"We have thousands of dollars. Thousands Jac. What will we do with thousands of dollars?"

"Buy shit." The girls giggled and threw dollars into the air above them. "Oh, buy a safe to put it all in. And new weapons, and outfits, and toys and-"

"Steak." Angelica bounced onto her hands and knees, and gave her best friend the toothiest grin she could. "I want to eat real meat. Cooked raw so it's still bleeding."

"Ooo, restaurant cuisine huh?" Jac sat up and folded her arms over her chest. "Well I think we could do that...but where do we go?"

"Oh...i see." Angy sighed and rocked back onto her backside and looked down at her lap. "I can't exactly walk into a bar or a restaurant unless im in costume, and then we'd be kicked out anyway as villains."

"Unless." Jac play punched her reptilian friend. "We go to Lexellance."

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

"I change my mind." Angy dug her heels into the floor and shook her head from side to side. "I think take out is fine. No need to go into the worst place in gotham. No no no no."

"Oh chill out will ya snappy?" Jac skipped around her trembling friend and put her hands on her hips. they were dressed in their trade mark blue and black costumes and only their eyes were on show. Angy's amber ones looked so on edge, her black slits for pupils were hardly there they were so thin. Azul rolled her green orbs and poked the taller woman in her chest. "Luto, we're villains now. we have money and we're going to get something decent to eat for once. With vegetables and bloody steaks and everything. Chill out. we can handle the other bad guys in there no problem."

Lexellance was part of a chain of night clubs and bars owned by the famous Lex Luthor. He was one of the world's biggest crime lords, and he had fingers in all sorts of criminal ventures. Including parts of Gotham. No one could prove that Lex was a criminal, or that his establishments were guilty of cleaning his money for him, or being a neutral territory for all the cities nasties to get together and get up to no good. Growing up in Gotham, Jaclyn had always been told by her mother that if there was one place in the whole city she didn't want to find herself, this was it.

So she walked inside, dragging Angy behind her. around the back and to the real front door, hidden in the back alley of the building. Through the main doors and inside.

It was very elegant looking for cesspit of evil. The swanky decor was a tad tacky in places, but clearly a lot of money went into the building and maintaining of this place. a long bar stretched along the left wall of the main hall, a stage at the back wall, the kitchen to the right, and at the front was a wall of body guards keeping the 'wrong kind' out. Stood in the middle of the elite thugs was a man in a tux, holding a clip board and pen. He had sharp brown eyes and a bald head. He was tall, weedy and clean shaven.

Kinda looks like a butler. Jac sniggered to herself and dragged her friend to a stop before him. "Hiya, we want in."

"I bet you do." The butler looked down at her snidely and looked them both over once, before looking to his clip board. "Names?"

"Azul and Luto. We're new criminals. We've done some work for the likes of Poison Ivy, and we have other gigs lined up too. we-"

"You're names aren't on the list." The butler smirked and held the clip board to his chest. "This club has an exclusive clientele list and you are not on the list. Good night."

"There, we can't go in." Luto grabbed her arm from behind. "Let's just-"

"Trust me Mister." Jac shrugged herself free and squared up to the butler. The guards at either side of him tensed, sensing the hostility coming off the girl in waves. "You won't survive telling me no again."

"Azul!" Angy hissed, slipping her knuckle dusters on and looking around them. The suit wearing guards had surrounded them and were pulling out guns, tazers and knives. "There are twenty of them Jefa. We can't-"

Her shoulders started bouncing.

She pulled two machete from her back and cracked her neck to either side slowly.

The sound was so soft to start with, you had to strain to hear it. it got louder, so loud in fact Jac arched her head back to release her madness into the air.

She was cackling with glee. Her blades were twitching in her hands as she shook with the force of her eerie laughter.

Then all of a sudden she stopped and locked eyes with the stunned butler.

"Last chance princess. All my partner and I wantz is a drink and a steak. But I'll settle for taking a pound or two of your flesh. You and your little pixies." She sniggered and skipped on her feet, from one to the other. "I'm kinda hoping he keeps up the bullshit Luto. This is much more fun!"

"Azul, why are you trying to get us killed?!" the taller woman in black pressed her back to her smaller friend, so they weren't caught by surprise. "All I wanted was a steak." She whined and clocked how close the high end thugs were getting. "They have guns and tazers Jefa. What are we going to-"

"What's going on here?" the arrogant butler looked over his shoulder and transformed into the most submissive kitty you'd ever seen. He kept his eyes averted down to the ground and bowed his head over.

"Oh, sorry for the disruption to your evening sir. These two were trying to force their way inside. The guards were just about to deal with them."

Jac looked this new man up and down. He wore a subtle, but expensive navy suit. The cufflinks that caught her attention out of the corner of her eye were silver X's and tasteful. His tie was also a very dark blue with a chequered pattern on it. He was bald and clean shaven, with a soft tan showing that this man travelled a hell of a lot. His eyes were dark and calculating, as he sized her up too. He had a strong jaw, and looked like he was more than capable of getting his hands as dirty as the next man, despite the perfect manicure. His gauze was intense and he almost looked like he wasn't paying any attention to the babbling man servant.

"You two have been in the papers recently." The man spoke directly to Jac. "The black and blue costume. Yes, you're Azul and Luto, are you not?"

"That's us." Jac grinned under her mask. Someone had heard of them! "We're new on the scene, so not many stories to tell yet. But that'll change soon enough."

"Is that so." He smoothed his hands down his jacket and inclined his head to one side, silently commanding the suit wearing thugs to resume their normal position. "You were but a fly in the ointment until recently. I've heard you got quite the attention in one of the underground cage fights. And recently you've started hiring out your skills to some of the elite clientele in my establishment."

"Yup, that's us." Jac put her machete away and put her hands up in the air. "I tell ya puddin', I never thought anyone would have noticed our hard work so soon."

"I make a habit of being informed of events." He pushed the butler aside and offered Azul his arm. "Consider yourself welcome at Lexallance."

"oooo! I like this guy!" Jac bounced over to the man and hooked arms with him, giggling and looking over her shoulder to bark at Luto to hurry the hell up. "Thanks for the save back there. we came for a steak and a drink. But the bloodshed looked fun too so I got a bit carried away."

"A bit?" Luto hissed behind her, arms folded over her chest and her mental bottom lip well out.

"Well, I'd prefer if you want to start coming here regularly for work and such, if you didn't make a habit of cleaving my men into pieces."

"Yeah, I can get how that would be a pain. I mean the clean up! What a bitch right?" she giggled and allowed this man to walk her into the main hall. She got a better look at the bar, the stage with a band playing, and the kitchen counter with food bring served. She also saw how there were two clear sections for seating. The side closest to the stage and at the back of the hall held large round tables with reserved seating. She clocked Poison Ivy sitting with Harley, talking energetically about 'something' and their table held many empty wine glasses and bottles.

Must be on the piss. Her heart ached. She couldn't go over there and tell them she was ok, no matter how much she wanted to. Ivy knew, but Ivy also knew better than to tell Harley.

There were gangsters around a few of these tables in expensive suits and smoking cigars. The rest of the tables in this section she didn't recognise, but made a note to herself to learn all the big players in town, and hopefully work for them.

The front section (separated by a dance floor) had more of a cafe' feel to it. Little round tables and stools where you could sit where ever you want. Just make sure you don't sit near the wrong person or you'll get stabbed, so to speak.

"Well, make sure to stay out of trouble or I'll make sure you'll go no further in our world little girl." The man pushed her down into one of the stools and pulled a bottle of sanitizer out of his pocket. "I've only let you in as I'm quite sure you'll end up working for me one day. A woman of your...talents would be very useful to my needs."

"Sure thing Mr Luthor." Jac put her hands over her chest and blew him a girly kiss through her mask. "Look forward to it puddin!"

The highly distinguished crime lord rolled his eyes, finishing rubbing the gel into his hands and pointed over to a long section of wall that interrupted the long stretch of kitchen. It was in the middle of the room, so to the right of the dance floor and 'neutral' territory.

"Find jobs over there. Stay away from the real criminals little girl. You are not safe here."

"Why couldn't I have a daddy like you?" Luto tensed, watching as her friend put her elbows on the round little wooden table, put her chin in her hands and kicked her legs back and forth on the stool like someone half her age. "You've protected me, taught me loads about this place and given me advice! With a pops like you, I might have been a good girl!"

"Perhaps." He chuckled, despite himself. "No matter how hard I try, my own daughter refuses to take up this side of my business."

"A daughter huh?" Jac jumped up to her feet, hands on the table and her head scanning the room. "She about our age? I'd love to get some more girlie friends together. Whatcha' think Luto?"

"Whatever you say Jefa."

"No offence, but stay away from my daughter. I need her in one piece to hand back over to her mother tomorrow morning." Lex sighed, burdened by something and walked away from the table. "Don't think you can speak to me again without permission. The next time we talk, it will be if you have taken a job of mine."

"Sure thing boss man!"

Lex walked off, and Luto grabbed Azul's shoulder to yank her back into her stool.

"You are insane!" Angy hissed to herself in Spanish. "que será la muerte de mí." She hissed again, then shook her head. Jac was loving this. she was in the famous lexallance, an acknowledged bad guy (even if that is only as a bit of muscle), and just rubbed shoulders with the Lex Luthor. "And what the hell do you mean make new girlie friends?!"

"Well I was thinking-"

"I'm not going to like this, am I?" Angy folded her arms over her chest and narrowed her amber eyes at her hyperactive boss lady.

"...maybe?" the blue clad girl shrugged and opened the menu on the table. "I was thinking that you and I are awesome and all, but we've been really lucky so far. We'd be better, and luckier, if we were more than just scappy and muscle."

"So...?" Jac didn't look up from the menu and folded one leg over the other under the table.

"We need to recruit more members." Angy scanned her eyes around the room. It was true; she couldn't see any other double acts that didn't also have a goon squad at their disposal. Or at least a lot of money or alliances to help them through this life. "I know what we need too."

"Si? What do we need Jefa?"

"Can I just stop you a second." Jac put the menu down and pointed at her friend's face. "You've been calling me Jefa. I swear that's something from a TV program or something."

"...it's Spanish for a female boss..."

"Oh. Oh, jefa away then. That's me." She giggled and pointed the menu. "Let's get some eats!"

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

The waiter finally came over and took their order. They asked for a pitcher of water and two glasses, a steak that was so raw it dripped with blood and a plate of chicken nuggets with BBQ sauce. It didn't take very long for the food to arrive, and they made quick work of eating it. then they paid the waiter with their stolen bills and didn't resume their conversation until they were sure no one was listening again. "K. See, I'm the boss and I'm scrappy. You're the muscle." Jac did a macho man pose and made her friend chuckle behind her large clawed hands. "We need someone who's smart. Someone who can help us get in and out of places without getting our asses caught. Make plans for me to claim credit for, shit like that. we also could do with someone a bit...extra..." Jac was smoothing her mask down over her face and fussing over it, making sure it didn't look a mess. Angy was doing the same with hers. She was sure people had seen her scales and were talking about her mouth, but who cares right? Her face had mostly been hidden, and the only person she really wanted to hide her face from wasn't here. "...hmm...over there."

Angy blinked rapidly as her friend sprang to her feet and skipped through the thug riddled tables and over to the dance floor. Scurrying after her Angy made sure to look around her crazy friend to make sure no one reached out and shanked her from behind as she passed them.

As they reached the dance floor the taller woman expected them to stop and start dancing. Oh...if only. I'm not that fucking lucky!

The pair, led by a skipping Jac, headed into the dangerous back tables and over to some very colourfully dressed villains. Angy took one look at them and felt her 'good' Christian heart tell her they were bad news. The word 'cult' came to mind when she looked at them. Cloaks, medallions, brilliant and evil looking gem stones, and hooded cloaks. The man at the head of the table rose to his feet as they stood before the merry band of blood worshipers. He wore a crown of bones, moulded around his head with two fierce horns arching up from his temples. It ran down his back of his neck and the start of his cloak. The cloak was a very dark black with a purple sheen to it, and pined over his pecks with ornate gold discs. His trousers were red, as were his sleeves and gloves. His chest piece however was made of the same bone as his 'cowl', and ancient gold lettering was set into different cracks of the bone armour. He wore medallions and trinkets around his neck and each seemed to have an evil connotation ebbing off it. his face was pale, with deep red war paint, that was clearly supposed to look like blood, painted ceremoniously over his features. His dark eyes were cruel and intimidating.

"Jefa, let's not fuck with this man."

"That is sound advice." The man spoke with a smirk, folding his hands over his chest arrogantly. "Turn around and walk away."

"But sir!" Jac put her hands together in front of her and appeared to be begging. Angy didn't know what her angle was, but Jac didn't beg. Not for anything. Jac hadn't even begged for her life when the Joker killed her. "I really need your help with something."

"Oh?" He nodded to his hooded followers to relax, and they returned to reading their cards and drinking their, well, Angy hoped it was red wine. "You come to me to ask for help? Tell me child, do you wish to convert to the honour of worshiping Trigon?"

"Erm...no, but I do need something. Or rather, someone." Jac chuckled nervously and put her hands on her hips. "I'm putting a band together, and we want to rock this town. I'm the singer, Luto's the drummer, but I need a keyboard player and a guitarist, if you get my drift." The man locked eyes with Angy, showing how clueless he was.

"What?"

"I mean." Jac stepped forward pointed to one of the hooded goons across the table. "I need a magic user and I don't see anyone talking to her very much. She must not be a big player in your group, which is great. If you're not using her, I'd put her to work nooooooooo problem!" Jac clapped her hands together with glee with the figure lifted her head to look up in shock at her. Jac winked at her, then turned to look at the head magical honcho once more. "So, I'm Azul. This is Luto. We're new on the scene, but we are getting work and working hard on upping our body count."

"Are you indeed." The man looked to the hooded girl, making her gasp and lower her head once more. "And you thought you'd get yourself a magic user, and come to Brother Blood to take one of his? Why would I do this?" he chuckled, opening his arms to her. "Why would I give you one of my disciples?"

"Because I was watching her." Jac nodded her head towards the girl. Angy was shocked. She'd been sat right next to the smaller woman and hadn't once noticed her casing out the table across the hall. "None of you were talking to her. she seems a bit of a nobody to you. well, she'd be a somebody to me. I don't care how crap she is, she's better than no magic on my little team. Right Luto?"

"Si Jefa." She answered on instinct.

"What makes you think Lilin's magic is substandard?" Brother Blood waved a hand at her, indicating that the woman should rise. She did.

"Because of the way none of you like her. come on." Jac shrugged and pouted cutely. "If she was any good, she'd be useful to you. if anything she's sat there all quiet and bored like a piece of baggage. Baggage I'm offering to take off your hands. hmm?"

"So you want to take my daughter do you?"

Jac tensed. Ah. She hadn't realised the girl was Brother Blood's daughter. Then again, it didn't shock her than an evil daddy treated his offspring like shit.

"Yup." She nodded and held her side with one arm, and her chin with the other. "And of course, you'll want a cut of her takings, right? She experienced? She'll get a hell of a lot of experience with me. Win-win, right?"

"I..." Brother Blood started grinning and looked to the girl instead. "...am tempted by this offer. You are very observant child." He chuckled, returning his cruel gaze to the budding villainess. "She is pathetically weak, despite her lineage. She can hardly conjure a damn thing, and has no experience in the field. She shames me." He chuckled again and shrugged. "I don't want payment as money. I want souls."

"...huh?" Luto held her forehead and shook it. her boss wasn't the most elegant of women. "Say what now?"

"Well, if I give my only daughter to you, I expect her to become more powerful and thus more useful to me. To do that, she must harvest souls in the name of Trigon. Only then will she improve. I will issue her with a blood stone." Brother blood flicked his wrist at one of his underlings, who handed him a pendant. it looked like a long red crystal, raw in power and evil in intent. It swung from a golden chain, and landed in Jac's hands. "You are her new master. Put the chain around her neck, and the blood stone will inform me of her development. If she shows no improvement in 6 months time, I will reclaim her, and her soul." He then chuckled and leaned forward. "And yours."

There was a silent moment between them. Dark brown bearing into unstable green ones. Angy watched from behind and wondered if this was the moment that Jac realised she'd bitten off more than she could chew.

"Sure thing poppa blood!" Jac play punched his shoulder and swung the blood stone in her other hand. "She'll be so kick ass by then. You'll see." Angy followed (out of fear) her reckless leader over to the hooded girl who still stood. "Ok puddin. Drop the hood and let me look at'cha."

The woman was taller than Jac, but shorter than Angelica. As she raised her trembling hands to her red hood and lowered it, she revealed herself to be of a similar age as well. The first thing they noticed was how pale her skin was. Then how ashy blonde her long hair was. The fringe curved over her forehead softly.

Then she opened her eyes. The whites of her eyes were black and her irises were red. As both Angy and Jac stared into those eyes, they seemed to pulse with energy. Jac cleared her throat and willed her hands forward to put the necklace around the girl's neck. "Alrighty. So I can take her and go now, right pops?" Jac threw back at Brother Blood, who chuckled darkly and smirked.

"By all means. A bargain was struck. I look forward to seeing her again in 6 months."

"Sure thing. Thanks again. Bye." Even Jac sounded desperate to get away from the creepy bunch, and grabbed Lilin's arm. "This way." She whispered, dragging the blonde away from the table.

To Angy's dismay...they didn't return to the relative safety of their little table. On no. Jac led them over to another highly populated and very heavily armed table. Lex Luthor looked up from his ipad and raised a brow at the sudden intrusion.

"I thought I told you that-"

"Evening Mr Luthor sir." Jac put one arm up and over Angy's shoulder, and rested the other across Lilin's shoulders. "I thought I'd come to you with a business proposition. I hear you like those." Jac giggled with glee when her green orbs fell onto a young woman. She was at least Angelica's age, if not older. Maybe mid to late twenties and wearing it well? The woman had shoulder length curly ginger locks and hard blue eyes. she wore a pair of jeans, designer trainers, a long sleeved white t-shirt underneath a long blue tank top dress. She had been typing furiously into her laptop, and stopped when the Jac started staring at her.

"I highly doubt that you have any sort of business to deal with."

"I mean the business of me." Jac pointed at her mask face with both hands. "I am one short of a full team to earn some serious cash. I have my excellent and might I add ballsy leadership with a side of relentless rage in battle, a killer carnivore of a muscle woman-" She pointed to Luto, who couldn't look less intimidating when she waved and said 'hi' in response. "-and my newest addition is Lilin. She's our magic user." The girl seemed to remain tense in her hold, and nodded obediently at the mention of her name. "I need someone who is smart and good with tech." Jac stepped forward, taking her arms from her posy and putting her hands on her hips. Luthor's guards tensed, but didn't move from their seats yet. Jac wasn't looking at Luthor, despite the fact she was talking to him.

She was looking at his daughter, who looked...intrigued. "So I want her." Jac pointed at her. "I won't accept anyone else."

"Well there you go, starting on the wrong foot again Azul." Luthor chuckled and started pressing things into his ipad again. "You've started negotiations by admitting that you need Liana specifically. Now I can state my price."

"Why should Liana join me on a whim?" Jac slowly crawled onto the table, sitting on the edge of it and leaning forward on her hands. still looking intently at Liana. She looked hungry for something, and desperate to get it. "I'm some serious shit baby. I'm new, so I'm not going to big myself up as being a pro, because I'm not. But I'm ambitious enough that one day I will be one. You wanna live your life in a shadow, or be the one casting it on others."

"I-" Lex raised his hand, cutting his daughter off from answering it.

"Liana is my daughter and thus very high profile. She'd can't don a costume and-"

"Sure she can. In a mask no one will know her. I'm sure if she needs to fight, I can teach her some cool moves. I like pointy things myself." Azul giggled, and Luto chuckled behind her.

"She's not kidding. Most girls worry over what shoes to wear with that dress. Azul spends her dress up time distraught over whether to wear her throwing knives, her machete set or if she should go with both." The black clad reptile pointed at her boss's body. "As you can see, she went with both tonight."

"I kinda always do." Jac chuckled and laid on her front on the table, kicking her legs behind her lazily and resting her chin on her elbows. "You could just give your dear-ol-pa a cut of your earnings to make him happy. You'll get field experience with people who all have daddy issues."

"So I wouldn't feel alone then?" the redhead had a very husky voice. Sultry, but still very feminine. she smirked, and Jac giggled. They'd clearly hit a common cord there. Lex even tensed awkwardly at the insinuation. "I'll earn 25% of our earnings?"

"Of course!" Jac jumped up onto her knees and knelt before her, holding her hands together. "Come on come on come one come on-"

"Father." Liana crossed one leg over the other and locked her steely blue eyes onto her father. "I'll accept this business proposition. You'll of course want a percentage of my takings due to your chromosomal contribution to my existence, no?" the air would have been thick with hostility, had Jac not laughed so hard, holding her ribs as she did, that she rolled off the table and landed on the floor in heap. She was still sniggering as Luto pulled the crazy woman to her feet.

"I'll take half."

"You'll take 30% as you'll no longer be giving me my allowance, I'm sure."

"So you did get some Luthor from me after all." Lex chuckled and looked to Jac, who had just finished recovering from her giggling fit. "It seems you have recruited my daughter to your shambles of a team. I expect her involvement to be concealed at all times as I will bury you both if this comes back to my public image." Liana closed her laptop and held it to her chest as she got to her feet. "I'll send you the details to transfer your money to."

"Of course. Give mother my regards."

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Jac lead her merry band of misfits back over to the 'safe' side of the hall and they piled around their original table. Luto sat next to Jac and looked at the other two women cautiously. She agreed with her boss. They needed more power to their team if they wanted to survive out here, but she didn't know either of these women.

I won't let either of you hurt my Jac.

"Ok happy campers." Jac poured them all a glass of water and grinned widely at the girls. You could hear it in her voice, even if you couldn't see it through her mask. "I've just hijacked you from you factions, and I reeeeeeaaaaaaally hope you don't mind."

"You made a good pitch." Liana shrugged, sipping her water. "My father has been after me getting involved in this side of his business for quite some time now. Luke, my younger brother, is a chip off the old block and I've been told many times how he will be the one that inherits Lex corp. So the only possible use I could have to the old man is to take over the criminal world and work for Luke when he's old enough. Bastard." She huffed angrily. "So obviously I resisted him at every turn. I will not be defined by my father and baby brother because I have tits instead of a cock. If I'm going to do this I'll do it on my own damn terms." She exhaled and cleared her throat. "Sorry. I have baggage."

"Cool." Jac nodded eagerly and pushed a glass of water into Luto's hands. "My dad killed me." Luto almost dropped her glass. "So I totally get how sticking it to the ol'man became appealing."

"Azul." Angy hissed and turned in her stool to give her back to the other two girls. "Are you sure you should be telling them that? what if they tell someone and-"

"I told them that Luto." Jac spoke up, sharing their conversation with Lilin and Liana. "Because we are going to be fighting for our lives on the streets, killing to protect each other, and we need to be able to trust each other. I will risk my life to protect you guys, and expect the same back. or I'll slit your throats myself." Even Luto tensed as she returned to her original position in the stool. "So I think the best way to develop that vital trust to enable us to be sisters on the battle field, we need to be honest."

"I like you." Liana chuckled and opened her laptop. "You're pretty stupid, but if I can trust you I can work with you. I can't say I'm not looking forward to working with someone who won't lie to me all the time." the redhead started typing into her laptop, eyes glued to the screen, but mind in the conversation. "So you know my deal. I went to the best university in Metropolis and did my internship at my daddy's research and defence labs. When we are away from prying ears you'll need to know what you need me to build or hack, and I'll tell you how much time and money I'll need to make that happen. I also have no intention on being stuck in your basement somewhere as you get to play with my toys."

"No way. You're skinny ass is going to kick butt right next to the rest of us. You need to design a costume and pick a name! Oooo! That's one of the fun parts. I suggest comfortable and stretchy. Very, very stretchy."

"I will design my battle suit on my own and give you the bill later." Her fingers blurred over the keys of her laptop. "So what's your story dark and gloomy?"

"I belong to Azul." The blonde piped up.

"No little mouse." Liana stopped typing and looked over the top of the screen at Luto. "I meant her."

"I am the muscle of this team and I've been with Azul from the beginning." Jac raised a brow and looked between her growling best friend and the alpha bitch from metropolis. "You want to know my story? When I get pissed off I take this mask off my mouth and eat the person that pisses me off. And I'm not being liberal with my descriptions."

"Alright chuckles." Liana's lips curved to one side in a delicate smirk. "I get it. You're the brawn."

"Si. And Azul is the Jefa, the Boss. You disobey her and I'll-"

"I'll kill my own people thank you." Jac poked her arm and snickered. "Now please play nice."

"Si Jefa." The woman still growled through clenched jaws.

"Oh goodie, friends again." Jac lifted her blue mask over the ridge of her nose and chugged her glass of water. She then put the glass down and replaced her mask. "Now just so we're clear." she reached over the table and took Lilin's hands, making her jump in her seat and tense up. "Lilin is our magic user. Care to share your history with the team puddin?"

"...no."

They blinked and stared at her. Lilin took her hands back from Jac and looked down at her lap. Her ashy blonde locks fell forward and she closed her eerie black and red orbs. "...I belong to Azul. I will follow your instructions and harvest souls when you instruct me in the name of Trigon." Her voice was soft and sent chills down their spines.

"Oh fearless leader?" Liana closed the laptop and shuffled her stool closer to Jac's side. "Please don't leave me alone in a room with the soul reaping Trigon worshiping occult girl." Liana nodded her head enthusiastically so her coppery ringlets bounced with the action.

"Ah no woops." Jac reached over the table, and yanked the girl's hands back off her lap and into hers on the table. "I promise I'll take good care of you Lilin."

Slowly those demonic red eyes lifted their gauze to look deep into her green ones. Despite the intensity of her haunted look Jac just giggled and gave her a big smile. The mask hid it, but her eyes showed it. "You know I had a relatively ok childhood. Until my ma passed and I met my pa. Bad-bad news. But." She shrugged. "I'd do it again just the same."

"Just the same?" Angy cocked her head to one side and stared at the back of her head.

"Yup. Luto had a hard childhood and I'm sure one day she'll tell you about it. I'm sure that the emotional bullying Liana goes through from her asshat of a dad is horrible." She gulped and used her grip on Lilin's hands to slowly turn them over. "From one girl that was beaten by her father to another, I'll make sure that never happens again." The multiple thick bands across her wrists showed that she had been restrained by rope and chains. Some of the welts and scars were old, some still angry and recent. The thing is, she was so down trodden that even as the rest of the group gasped at the clear sounds of cruelty, she didn't flinch. She didn't try to hide her scars, she didn't react to the statement. This made Jac angry. "What that bastard did to you was wrong." She shook with rage, her grip on the girl getting tighter. "He shouldn't have put his hands on you. he shouldn't have-"

"If you think the beatings and being locked up were the worse of what Brother Blood did to me, you shouldn't have taken me on Azul."

"Oh goodie." Jac patted the girl's hands and rocked back on her stool. "I hate boring people. Yeah, yeah we're going to have so much fun!"


	17. Chapter 17

"Ok peeps. This is the shit. We are going to work on operation get rich and get souls, starting right now." Jac nodded eagerly. All four girls stared down from the top of a roof and watched people walking in the streets below them. "We've spent the last few weeks spending all our money…" slowly Jac turned to pout at Liana, who just shrugged with a smirk at her. "…money guzzling little-"

"Do you think wiring electricity from the mains undetected into that shack of yours, getting the standard of our new _dwelling_ from third world to Luthor-ready, with high end custom built computers that can't be traced, new ear pieces, weapons and of course, new outfits-" deep breath. "-comes cheap?"

"Well-no-but-"

"Exactly." Liana rolled her hard blue eyes at the boss lady. "Besides, we needed the time to train together."

"Yeah you and Lillin couldn't fight for shit." Jac sniggered and sat with her back to the roof ledge. "Though I got a new outgit out of it, so I guess that's ok. And we all match!"

"Exactly." Liana said again. "Now shut up and wait for the target will you?"

"Bored." Jac shrugged and turned to look at Angelica, who was looking considerably unhappy. "What ups Luto?"

"My face…"

"What about it?" Jac cocked her head to one side and smiled. She liked these new costumes, but for all of them, not just because she had a slight obsession with them.

They all had steel reinforced high heel wedge boots that came up to their knees. Their trousers were skin tight and pinned to their low hips by a simple utility belt. The suit continued up as a skin tight, long sleeved top that had a zip travelling up from the belt to their amplified cleavage. their gloves were very stretchy, and they had a domino mask over their eyes. Attached to their suit was a very baggy hood, like an archer's, that was also attached to the domino mask and the rim rested on their brow line. They all had the same outfit on, but Angy AKA Luto's was black, Jac AKA Azul was blue, Lillin AKA Rojo was red and Liana AKA Morado was purple.

Jac wore her throwing and close combat knifes on both thighs in a special holsters, her twin machete on her back, and a few new toys such as grenades, tear gas and tazers in her utility belt. Suffice to say, her belt compartments were bigger than the others. She also made sure to keep her hair short and blue to prevent her being identified too easily. With her mouth exposed she couldn't resist wearing blue lipstick too. Jac also stitched an A on her back, an L on Angy's, an M on Liana's and an R on Lillin's.

Angy wore her knuckle dusters and had more reinforced padding in her gloves for her brawling style, and the tips of her gloves were designed to let her own claws extend out as well.

Lillin had no weapons, but her blood crystal hung from her neck and rested on her cleavage.

Liana had a special toy of her own. She'd made it years ago apparently and didn't have the opportunity to use it. Now she did. It was a bow that didn't need arrows. Her gloves had special generators in them (cost a pretty fucking penny) that worked with the flexible carbon fibre bow. Only her gloves would work with it, generating energy arrows that could melt thin metal, and certainly kill a man if she hit him somewhere vital. Like the chest or the face. Jac had caught her practising her aim in a slaughter house and the frozen cow carcasses were burnt wherever her arrows hit.

"You can see my…"

"Isn't that the point?" Liana cut in, doing some last minute checks on their com system. They were all wearing ear buds and she didn't want them to be hacked into or break during their 'maiden voyage'. "You're mouth is one of your weapons isn't it?"

"You look great." Jac held her reptilian friend's shoulder. "Really kick ass. Besides, no one can see if you're a lizard, a snake or what under there. No one will know Luto. I swear."

"…ok Jefa."

"So we know the plan right?" Jac put her hands on her blue knees. And looked to the group.

"I don't like it Jefa. I should be with you."

"You and I are the most experienced of our group, which isn't much. This is the first time we'll be on the street with Rojo and Morado. I'll take Rojo, you take Morado." Jac winked a bright green eye at her worried friend.

"That does make sense." Mini-Luthor added. "Rojo and I are long range, you two are close range. Each pair will complement each other if we split that way."

"I will serve you as best I can Azul." Lillin moved to kneel before Jac, who just cackled at her.

"We don't serve shit here Rojo. I'm the boss, but we're a team. We're working together to get rich and get you some souls. That's why it's called operation get rich and get souls. You'll have my back, and I'll have yours. I swear it cutie-pie." Her southern twang came out again as she giggled. "Remember, just like we practised. Hit them with your tele-whatzit, and I'll hack 'em up. What is the golden rule?" Jac pointed at the magic user, who nodded obediently.

"Hit the enemy, not you."

"Good!" Jac giggled with glee and wriggled on her butt. "Now is that bastard here yet or-"

"Shit! He's just gone into the warehouse! We missed out clear window." Liana swore several more times under her breath and glared at Jac and the others with frustration. "what now fearless leader? Penguin hired us to take out the guy who's pushing compound X on his turf. We were supposed to shoot him from the roof whilst we had him in the open. Now he's in his hideout with like 50 bodyguards! We've-"

"Got a job to do." The wide and shameless grin that spread over her blue lips silenced the hissing redhead. "Besides, I likes getting all up close and personal when I shift a guy. Fancy 50 new souls to your collection Rojo?"

"…as you wish Azul."

"Just how I likes it." She rubbed her hands together.

"Ok, fine!" Liana smoothed her hands over her purple bow and looked to the warehouse. "In through their roof or back door?"

"Nah. Front door." The other three women looked to their fearless leader as she jumped to her feet and stalked over to the fire escape. "I'm not one for sneaking, and everyone uses the roof top or back door." Jac swivelled on her heels and grinned at the women when she reached the fire escape. "A good comedian comes up with their own material. No rip offs!"

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"Seriously?"

"Yes Morado." Angy gulped, shacking her hands and rolling her shoulders, getting them as loose and flexible as she could. "Get ready."

"But we're about to walk into a warehouse full of armed men, high on drugs, through the front door and-"

"Those are Azul's orders." The lizard woman turned to snarl sinisterly at the rich girl with intense amber eyes. "You do not question her, you only follow. Where she goes, we go. She has a plan."

"Does she?!" Liana hissed, her bow shaking in her hands, her fingers in position of either side of the nocking point to pull the string back. "Because she hasn't shared it with us!"  
"She never does." Luto chuckled, cracking her neck to either side. "We wouldn't follow her if she did."

The only person not complaining was Lillin, who held her hands together over her front as they walked, taking deep breaths. The waves of violence coming off her comrades was seeping into her skin, putting her aura on edge. Then they got closer to the warehouse and she could sense greed and darkness from inside. The hairs on her skin stood on end, and her crimson eyes glimmered in the darkness of her hood.

"Remember, we're lost little girls." Jac skipped at the front over to the front door and actually knocked on it.

"How are we supposed to remember something when we weren't told in the first-" Liana bit her lips when Rojo turned to look over her shoulder at the older woman, her haunting gaze stopping the words on her lips.

Lillin really freaked Liana out. No matter how many times she'd tried to talk to the girl, she always said or did something that made her skin crawl and her stomach churn. She had taken to following Jac around like a silent shadow, and whenever Liana said something that didn't quite sound like whatever Jac wanted her to say, the look Lillin would give her said it all. If Jac lost her temper with her and told the girl to harvest Liana's soul, she would. Without hesitation. When they were training Lillin wouldn't fight back, she wouldn't defend herself. She'd take the beating and just watch you with those freaky eyes. It was so off putting that she refused to train with her and was instead swapped out with Jac. How that crazy girl wasn't given the willies by the blood worshipper she'd never know.

The door opened and they all looked up into the face of a man that might as well have had the word 'thug' across his forehead. Ball head, a 5 O'clock shadow across his jaw and hard brown eyes. He wore jeans, a blue t'shit on it and a leather jacket. He was muscular, but not too bulky.

"Good evening sir! My friends and I have gotten separated from our fancy dress party, and were wondering if we could use your phone. I'm the only one with a mobile and it just went dead. Do you mine?"

Liana watched how easily Jac lied to the man. Her head cocked to one side, her smile cute and her hands on her hips in such a way that made him look down at her body and ignore all the pointy weapons she was wearing. "We'd be so grateful sir."

"How grateful?" his voice was deep and rasped in places. The smell of cigarettes came off him in waves, and even Luto wanted to gag on the smell.

"Well, you got protection?" his grin widened. He pulled out a wallet and opened it, showing a condom wrapper peeking out from the front compartment. "Well, then I'm sure we can work that out. Ma always taught me that a lady uses protection."

"What a wise mother you had." He sniggered and opened the door, hunger dancing in his eyes as he watched Jac walk into the ware house. "Were your mothers that smart too?" before any of the girls could give up their cover Jac put her hand on the brute's chest and persuaded him to move out of the way to let the rest of her team inside. As soon as they were through the door and it closed behind them, Liana and Rojo got their first taste of the real Jac. She pulled a long and thin dagger from her thigh with her right hand, and the left caressed his face. When he leaned in to kiss her, she brought the dagger up and slid it under his chin, through his mouth and into his brain. She watched him tremble, eyes wide and staring into her, dark blood trickling out of the corners of his lips, then flowing down his front. Jac giggled softly and planted a delicate kiss in his lips, before turning to look at Lillin.

"Soul number one?"

"Yes Azul." The red clad woman stood next to Jac and cupped the thug's face. She opened her mouth like she was going to moan, but inhaled instead. To everyone's amazement a red mist crept out of his open and bleeding mouth and into hers. She seemed to breathe it in and swallowed it into 'somewhere', until he was empty. He then fell from Jac's hand, dagger still impaling his head.

"Taste like chicken?" Jac cackled, pulling her blade from the thug and wiping it on his shirt.

"Well, no it's-"

"Man the fuck up." Liana jumped and stared at Luto with wide blue eyes. "We're villains. We kill people. It's what we do now. What does it matter if we tear their throats out, shoot them or harvest their souls? Dead is dead." Luto seamed shaken despite her chiding, also freaked out by the display, but she knew better than to lose her cool now. "Focus on staying alive in here Morado. Do you have my back?"

"Y-yes, I-"

"Because I won't have yours if you don't have mine."

"Here here!" Jac bounced into the conversation, her hands pointing up to the roof. "Up the scaffolding. The rest of the merry gang seemed to be through those doors, and we can sneak over up the scaffolding."

"I thought you didn't sneak?" Liana tried so hard to shake off her shock, adrenaline and fear tearing through her veins.

"I do what I want. You'll get used to that. One minute I don't sneak, the next I do." Jac winked at the girls and pointed to the left. "Luto, Morado, to the left. Rojo and I'll take the right. Kill if you have to, but try to leave some alive for Rojo if you can."

"Sure thing Boss." Liana was still trembling when Luto grabbed her elbow and dragged her over to the scaffolding.

Right about now, being sat in an office and talking over the intercom sounded just peachy right now. Fuck, she was in the big leagues now. Jac and Angy were _not_ messing around. Apparently neither was Lillin.

Being a bad guy wasn't all glamour like her father made it out to be. It was murder…and all shades of wrong. Could she do this? Could she survive with these women around her?

Angy shoved Liana onto the bars and hissed at her to hurry up. She controlled her breathing and seemed to get her hammering heart under control by the time they got to the top bars.

"I'll have your back in there Senorita Luthor." Angy whispered by her ear, and strangely that was comforting. "Concentrate, you'll be fine. I was scared too to start with, now I'm used to it. You will get thicker soon." Her Spanish tones were gentle, despite the reptilian jaws they passed through. It seemed to calm Liana, and she was grateful for it.

They crawled on their hands and knees along the scaffolding bars and looked down at the hall of men, and each other. Jac wasn't crawling like the others, she was walking along the bars like a tightrope. Her arms were out and she looked like she'd start dancing back and forth any moment. Her grin was wide and her eyes were on the prize.

In the middle of the hall was a man in a white suit. It was his trademark, and was very useful in identifying him from the 49 goons around him. They looked like bikers from their jeans and leathers, but that didn't matter.

They would all bleed the same.

Jac topped half way through the hall on her bars and turned to face the floor. The other three women also stopped and watched her for their cue. She seemed to just watch them for a while before she pressed her fingers to her right ear.

"Rojo and Morado will stay up here and fire at them from above. Luto, you and I will take out Mr-I'm-asking-for-a-blood-stain first to send the others crazy and make a mess of the place. 1." She put her hands up and balanced on her toes on the bar, already starting to drop forward. "2."

Luto hissed and got to her feet.

"I got you Morado." Angy nodded to her nervous friend.

"3." Jac dived off the bars and did a few twists in the air, before rolling to land on her hands and feet in the middle of the floor. They were already shouting and pulling out their pieces, so Jac moved quickly. She jumped to her feet and locked her green orbs onto the white suit. The man wearing it wasn't very impressive. Very skinny and sickly looking. _Didn't he know not to sample his own product?_ "Evening kiddies! The entertainment is here!" she cackled, and grinned even more when she heard the tall tale roar of her best friend at her back. "And I brought my friends too!"

Blood.

Screams.

Wet heat across their skin.

It was chaos, beautiful and wild chaos. Jac's favourite place in the world.

Energy arrows and magical blasts distracted (and killed) the men with guns, and the rest were Jac fodder. Luto focused on protecting Jac's back, dragging quite a few goons off her and breaking their necks and limbs.

Liana's wrists and fingers hurt, but she didn't dare slow her pace. She wore an eye lens that attached to her ear piece, helping her aim and aim quicker. It was a mess alright. She was running up and down the scaffolding, ignoring how it creaked and moaned under her, threatening to buckle at any moment, as she brought down fire on two fronts with Lillin. The mystic sent orbs of magic into the throng, lifting up the bodies and making them easier for Liana to aim at. She'd then drop the dead bodies on the other goons, hitting them and freaking them out in one.

"Come here you!" Jac cackled, ignoring the three scathing bullet tracks on her arms and throwing herself towards the target. Mr White was pushing goons to their death, trying to get to the back door and escape. All his previous attempts had been blocked by energy arrows or falling bodies. He was sweating and screaming for mercy. But it didn't matter.

Luto gave herself to the beast, her black slits nearly vanishing they were that thin in her golden orbs. She had to agree, subconsciously anyway, that having her mouth exposed allowed her to utilise her 'god given gifts' with ease. Bits of flesh dangled from her mouth, many bodies on the floor now with half their neck torn out, and blood drenched down her front. Good thing she was wearing black.

There was only a handful of them left now, so Jac gave Liana and Lillin the order to join them on the ground. As they navigated themselves down the scaffolding, Jac and Luto were both wide mouthed and panting as they cornered Mr White and his last body guard against the wall. The door was next to them, but they didn't move for it.

Blood dripped from Jac's machetes and she started quietly at first, then louder, louder, so loud her body shook with it.

Laughter. Bone chilling, heart splitting, bowl moving laughter. Luto was right next to her growling deeply in her chest. She spat out bits of Mr White's men, and licked her scaly lips at him. as the two men tried to see a way of getting the door open and running for safety without these two psycho bitches getting them, two more joined them. Liana had her bow fully drawn with an energy arrow.

"I'm aiming at your b-boss, not you." Luto gave the archer a side glance, smelling the shock and fear coming off her in waves. She walked closer to her and nodded.

"And she's one hell of a shot." Luto backed her up, bigging up the traumatised woman. "Si?"

"Go on. Move then?" Jac was bouncing from one foot to the next, both of her blood soaked machete still in each hand. "Getting bored now. FUCKING MOVE!" she faked forward and the bodyguard abandoned his boss. He grabbed the door handle, and sagged against the door.

Mr White was gasping for air, hyperventilating as he saw a girl holding a machete into a grown man's back. She'd moved so quickly, stabbed him so hard, she had to give it a few tugs to retrieve the blade from the door.

"Azul." Lillin's voice was so quiet you almost missed it. The red hooded woman stood very close to her fearless leader and only an incline of her head let her know she was listening. Her mad green eyes bore into Mr White, who had a very obvious yellow patch forming in the groin area of his suit. "There are still some that cling to life."

"Then take their souls. Luto, go with her."

"Si Jefa." Angy backed off, turning to Liana for a moment. "If he moves to hurt her, shoot him. no hesitation Morado."

"No. I'm all in now." The arrow had been tracking Mr White from the moment Jac took out his last guard. "Besides, I'd rather be here than on soul sucking duty. No offence Rojo."

"I am not offended." Her whispy voice sang by her ear, despite the fact she was in the middle of the warehouse now, kneeling and feeding off of a bleeding goon.

"Ok Mr White. I'm Azul, this is Morado, the woman in black is Luto and the red babe is Rojo. We took the hit out on you from the penguin. He had one request before we X you for your compound X gig." Jac put her machete on her back and lifted her hand up next to Liana. "No one poaches the penguin without paying their dues."

"P-please I can pay you I-"

Jac snapped her hand down, and a thwip past her with such speed she felt the wind of it on her face. The arrow sizzled through his chest, singing the outside of the impact zone and his clothing, cooking the flesh. At this distance the shot was devastating, leaving a crater where it hit. His body fell back against the wall and then slid down it until it rolled onto its side.

"You've done good today Morado." Jac put a bloody hand on her shoulder and winked at the taller woman. "Still nervous?"

"What?!" Liana gulped, then saw Jac flicker her eyes from her face to her chest. She'd lowered her bow, and she was still panting, clearly on edge still. "I've never killed anyone before…and today I killed 18." She gulped. "I mean 19."

"You counted as you went along? Cool! We should make that a thing." Jac skipped over the dead goons and lead the archer, who was moving on auto pilot, over to Lilian and Angy. The lizard woman was looking at them rather than at what the mystic was doing. "Hay, we have a new thing!" Jac pulled mini-luthor into her side and giggled with glee. "We take count of our kills. There were 50, I took out one as I came in. I didn't count so let's work it out from you guys." She rubbed Liana's far arm, leaving smears where she touched her. "Morado over here snagged 19! Like half!"

"I didn't count." Luto exhaled deeply. All the bodies around her…the coppery taste in her mouth. So many dead…_I had to do this. I had to protect Jac and I had to do this job. I'm a villain now…sorry mama…_

"Rojo? Did you?"

"No." she whispered, lifting her mouth up from hovering over the last living goon. Well…not anymore. "I counded 29 harvested souls however." She held herself, trembling. "Trigon is pleased with me. He is giving me power. I am getting stronger." Her crimson eyes pulsed and her ashy blonde hair seemed to get paler for a moment, then returned to normal. "You have done well Azul." Slowly and with great effort Lillin gingerly rose to her feet amongst the bodies. "You have lead us into darkness and triumphed."

"Nah, _we_ won. _We_ kicked ass." Liana said nothing and simply nodded. Jac walked over to Mr White's body and pulled out her machete. "Ok, let's amscray, go get our payment and get some pizza! Oooo, and a movie! I vote for a comedy!" chop. The rest of her team watched Jac hack off the drug dealer's head, rag off his famous white suit jacket and twist the trophy in it, dying it red. She then threw it over her shoulder like it was a bag of presents and skipped through the girls and over to the door.

Jac lead the way and Lillin obediently followed her out of the warehouse. Luto held Liana's trembling hand and guided her through the bodies. They managed to get to the sewers just as the sound of sirens crept over their heavy silence. Angy replaced the manhole and resumed her gentle dragging of the traumatised archer.

They went straight to Lexellance and up the fake back door. This time the body guards and door boy didn't hesitate to let them in. Not when Jac was covered in blood spatter and grinning like an idiot.

Eager to finish their mission and go home no one said a word as they followed Jac through the 'nobody' section, over the dance floor and over to the 'somebody' section.

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Many eyes looked at the four as they walked in. It was obvious why when you looked up at the many tv screens on the walls and the security images of four colourful hooded women ransacking a warehouse full of thugs without mercy. Liana gulped. None of them cocked the cameras. If anything that should have been her job. Turns out this gig was harder than she thought it would be, and now everyone had seen what they had done...

No wonder they stared so hard. It was horrifying. The injustice society must have taps on certain locations, as there is no _way_ the cops or the press had this footage so soon. Where one screen would show Lillin feeding off of dying men, another would show Angy grabbing a goon from behind and ripping his chest open with her claws and his windpipe out with her jaws. The body would fall in a soggy mess in slow motion and the thick blood rivets flowing between her teeth and gush down her chest. Then it changed to Liana.

_Was I really screaming the whole time?_ she looked at herself on the screen. She looked like a cornered animal lashing out with her bow and energy arrows.

All the super villains were watching the screen intently. Some looked worried, some were laughing, most were commentating within their groups. As the group reached the table with very smartly dressed men and women, black tie all the way, the Penguin turned in his swivel chair to look at them. Head of the table, grinning so wide the middle section of his mouth vanished under his hooked nose. Dark saliva stained the fancy white shirt of his tux, and his hat was titled to one side ever so slightly. He was wiping his monocle and nodding eagerly at the women.

"Well, what a show! You gave the message I asked for. Good. Here I thought I'd be watching your slaughter for my entertainment over dinner, and you go and put on a real show." He cackled, his lips wet as he did so.

"Well, we aim to please." Jac whispered, her face straight, her tone steady, confusing the hell out of Lillin and Liana. "Now we have fulfilled our part of the contract. Here is your proof." Jac dropped the dripping bloody white bundle onto the table and opened it up like a delicate flower. "Please may us our fee, and my team and I will look out for the next job you put up on the board."

"Excellent. Very amusing, yes." Penguin waved one of his black gloved 'hands' to the elegant women next to him. she wore a long black evening dress and her long blonde hair fell down her back in ringlets. She was stunning. Maybe she was his piece? "You will find the money in the case."

"I appreciate your business." Jac opened the case as soon as the woman handed it over to her, and lifted a few bundles of $50 bills up. No tricks, thank god. She was in no position to tell the penguin what four. She was exhausted! "Until next time." she nodded, playing the polite and humble part well.

Until the screens all changed to a cut scene of Jac running towards a very large thug with a shot gun. He was backing away from her in fear, staring into her cackling face and drawn machete and doubting himself. He fired at her, and in slow motion you sat 3 of the buckshot pellets scrape her arm and leg.

She didn't even hesitate. No wincing, no reduction of her blood lust. She tackled him to the ground and appeared to be hiking up his chest with her machete.

Over and over and over again.

Madness. Utter madness.

_Shit..._

"HA! HA HA HA HA HA!"

Everyone turned to look at the back of the hall. The Joker was holding his purple tailored sides and cackling with mirth. His wiped his eyes and pointed at the screen. Jac watched with horror as he walked with swagger over to his reserved table at the front of the hall...

...next to the penguin.

Luto moved to stand between her and that table. Everyone tensed as he passed them, hands in the pockets of his large purple coat. Jac forgot how to breathe when he stopped next to Luto and tipped his hat to her. "Nice to see people enjoying their work, right Cobblepot?"

"Joker, out of Arkham already? What a short stay." The Penguin sneered, and waved his hand, dismissing the girls. They tried to leave, but the Joker side stepped backwards, blocking their escape. Luto stood in front of Jac now, and growled through her bared fangs.

"Well you know, I like cable TV and peace and quiet when I go on holiday. The food was lousy, the service was worse and _don't_ get me started on the other guests. So rude! Not one of the quacks laughed at my jokes." The clown prince shrugged and pulled out a deck of cards. "Now listen peaches, peaches, peaches and sour cream." He looked at Luto last, pretending to growl back at her and then break into amused chuckles. "I have to say I'm a little stilted." He curved the pack of cards in one of his white gloved hands, and released them over into his other hand in a white blur. "You've done jobs for flower power, the walking Snow man and now beak face, but none of my gigs? I'm insulted!" he shuffled the cards in his hands, then spread them out like a fan in his hands. "Go on, pick a card." Luto didn't move or falter her intense gauze an inch. "You remind me of someone..." he pouted his red lips and turned his head to one side. His green eyes narrowed on her, like he was _really_ trying to recall who she reminded him off.

Realising what was happening Jac shoved Luto out of her way and snagged a card from him. she made sure to look down at the card and not at him, hoping the blue hood, mask, hair and lipstick would be enough. _I could die right here...if he recognises me..._ "That's the ticket! What's with your girlfriend? She ain't got Coulrophobia has she?"

"What's that?" Liana asked, not seeing a difference between talking to Penguin to talking to the Joker.

How naive.

"Fear of clowns." Jac whispered to her side, hoping he wouldn't recognise her voice if it was hushed.

"Ooooh."

"Well, look at it then!" the Joker barked at her, his grin slipping into a snarl for a moment, until she quickly looked at the card. Joker of hearts. Typical. "Alright, put it back." with trembling hands she slid the card back into the pack and held her middle in fear. Still she bowed her head, not daring to look at him. if recognised her she'd be dead. If she did something wrong, he'd kill her...or..._he might kill my girls!_

"Go back to the table."

"What? No way I wanna see-" Jac turned and stepped right up to Liana, staring right into her eyes and showing her just how serious she was.

"Never disobey me." Her voice was still hushed, but her wide green eyes were shouting at her. "Go. All of you. now."

"Sheeesh, fine." Liana chuckled nervously and walked around Jac and the clown king. Lillin also followed, leaving only Luto by her side.

"Don't make me cut you."

"But..." Jac kept her back to the Joker and fisted at the taller woman's suit. Right below her neck. "...be careful jefa." The reptilian woman begged quietly and forced herself to storm off after her team mates.

Now she was alone with the clown prince of Gotham, she felt chills of terror shoot down her spine. Angy couldn't resuscitate her this time if she got killed again. She turned cautiously bowed her head.

"Apologies." She whispered again.

"I get that. Broads will try to get away with bloody murder if you let them!" the Joker made her jump and squeal in her throat when he grabbed her shoulder. "Come and sit at my desk, boss to boss."

_Shit shit shit shit, I am so going to get myself killed!_ "You know, you got some balls kid." _Oh god, does he know?_ "You forced your way onto our stage and took a bit of the spot light!" pulled a chair out and pointed to it, wanting her to take it. Obediently, and feeling much like she did when she was held captive by him, she quickly took her place in the chair. "Got yourself from ripping off corner stores, to carrying out hits for the big players. But you don't show Joker the love? Tut tut tut! I'm hurt."

"It was not my-"

"Yea yea I know. No one ever _means_ to piss me off kid."

Shit...his tone had turned dark. She recognised that change in his mood. She swallowed hard, wondering how much longer he was going to play with her. why? She'd come so close to making it, and now he was going to kill her because she accidentally pissed him off by not taking one of his jobs? She only avoided his jobs because she wanted to avoid being caught and killed...and she was going to be killed for it? great. "Well? The trick isn't any good if you don't look." He poked her arm, and she nearly fell out of the chair. her blue gloved hands dug into the table and the chair, holding her in it and pulling her body to sit properly again. "At least you're smart enough to fear me." He chuckled, but there was a sad tone to it. "Now." he was all cheer again. "Look." She turned her bowed head to look at the table, and saw that he had spread his deck out on the table in a line. "Is this your card?" turned her head to see which card he pulled out of the deck, but he held it up.

_Fuck, I'm going to have to look up! He might, he might_ "Well?" she lifted her head up and looked at the card, saw the Joker of hearts, and nodded. Then she bowed her head again and continued nodding. "See! I'm good at this shit! I tells'ya, if I had a dime for all the times I've distracted kids with my card tricks I'd be rich!" he cackled with mirth, deep from his chest and high pitched from his lips. Soon however it fizzled off into an awkward sad chuckle. Then silence. Jac couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. "Anyway, I watched your 'big play' on the big screen at my place and came over once you amscrayed. I have _just_ the job for you and your girlies." He shoved a card into her view, the Joker of diamonds. She forced a trembling hand to take the card. "Turn it over." She did, and saw in red crayon an address and a number. It wasn't a phone number, not enough digits. "There. I want it done tomorrow night. Now vamoose!" he kicked her chair suddenly and watched her fall flat on her side. He was cackling and throwing his cards up in the air with glee, when he noticed something.

The hood and fallen back as she fell and showed her short blue hair. But more than that, there was a small sliver of hair that she'd missed, showing that she actually had blonde hair. Azul fisted at her hood and replaced it, scrambling to her feet and forcing herself not to run. She held her breath and bowed her head to him, not looking at him but the floor. If she'd looked at him, she might have noticed the look of cogs turning in his green orbs.

"it will be done."

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She power walked over to her table, seeing that Liana had the suitcase, and didn't walk over to them. She waved for them to follow her, and scurried after her, practically running to keep up with her pace as she made a beeline for the manhole they used.

Into the sewers, all the way to their house, up into her room and the door slammed shut. Jac knew the other girls had been right behind her, but right now she needed to be alone.

All three girls stood behind her locked bedroom door and heard the tell tale sound of her hurling her guts up into the toilet.


End file.
